Moni, Mukta return home tomorrow

Moni and Mukta, who were separated after a successful surgery in the city last week, are expected to return home with good health tomorrow, parents and doctors at Dhaka Shishu Hospital said yesterday.

Hailed from a remote village in Dinajpur district, the duo, aged five months and 25 days, were brought to the hospital as conjoined twins on January 31 last month.

Joy Prokash, father of Moni and Mukta, said both of his daughters are quite healthy now, although they had caught a cold last night.

He said all the credit goes to Shafi Kamal, a young information technology specialist who brought the issue to media limelight.

Doctors in the hospital said both Moni and Mukta are now free from any complications and would be able to grow individually.

The complicated surgery, operated on February 8, has brought confidence to the hospital surgeons for conducting such a job in future, they said.

The identical twins were born on August 22 last year at Parbatipur Mission Hospital.

"A lot of stigma was attached to the birth of my daughters," Joy Prakash said, adding that many villagers used to tell him "it's a result of his sin", while others used to ask them to leave the village.

Later, a local schoolteacher and Shafi Kamal came forward to rescue the family.