Recalling the events of a few days ago, Madhusudhan said that his elder son, also an IT professional, got the email around 5 am. Dheeraj had told them that he had locked the door and left the keys under the bike, and that he would return home in two months.

Dheeraj's frantic family contacted his friends and were shocked further when they learned that he had taken these steps for a height increase surgery. However, with not much information forthcoming from friends, the family approached the police and lodged a missing complaint. Police managed to trace him to Lakdikapul area of Hyderabad. On Tuesday, they tracked him to Global Hospitals.

By the time they reached, the surgery had already been performed and they were told that Dheeraj had been meeting doctors at the hospital for a year, obtaining information about the procedure and its implications.

“He can’t talk much but he’s complaining of pain. Dheeraj will not be able to walk for the next six months. The doctors are saying it’s better not to discuss all this with him right now, otherwise he may get depressed. Were they not aware of this when they were performing the surgery?”

Madhusudhan says that although Dheeraj always bought shoes with slight heels, they were clueless that he was dissatisfied with his 5ft 7in height to this extent. “He was very innocent and was a college topper too. He was always very helpful to his friends. Once, he even paid his friend’s fees.”

Madhusudhan says that now, they knew what Dheeraj was saving for all this past year. Until now, they believed that he was just being precocious by saving his earnings. He even undertook extra projects to raise the money.

In disbelief, Madhususdhan says: “Dheeraj is very good looking. I heard he did this because his friends teased him and said he would look better if he was three inches taller. He is such a nice person that when I wanted to lodge a complaint against his friends, he convinced me not to, even though he was in pain. He asked me not to spoil his friend’s life”, he added.

Shocked at the turn of events, 48-year-old Madhusudhan has lodged a complaint with the Saidabad police station, who have registered an FIR under Section 420 (cheating) of the IPC. Goverdhan says that Dheeraj paid the hospital around Rs 3 lakh while the surgery costs Rs 7 lakh.

“No one else should suffer like my child did. These corporate hospitals are only greedy for money. We will take strict action against the hospital. No one should ever trust these corporate hospitals. To perform the surgery for enhancing height, the doctors had cut both his leg bones and fixed a device,” Madhusudhan said.

According to the hospital, Dheeraj had told them that his family could not accompany him since they were in Bengaluru. “They should have at least explained to him the consequences of this surgery. He hid it from us, but they at least should have tried to inform us about my son’s intentions,” a pained Madhusudhan says.

However, Global hospitals maintains that it has done no wrong. Chief Operating Officer Dr. Shibaji Chattopadhyaya told The News Minute that the surgery Dheeraj had undergone, did not fall under clinical guidelines for medico-legal cases. “Hence, the hospital has not informed the police for the same. Patient Mr. Dheeraj has been fully explained about the risk, cost of treatment and due consent was taken from the patient and treatment given.

“As per the declaration, the patient has given the date of birth as January 23, 1994, and the hospital in no way is legally bound to check the credentials and background of the patient unless anything suspicious is noted. In case of Dheeraj , no such suspicious activity was observed. The patient is an adult and employed and consulted the doctor for surgery.”