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A sad case from India…This was one of the most read and emailed stories today: A two year old girl from a small village in India was born with four arms and four legs. The little girl, Lakshmi Tatma, is joined to what is known as a “parasitic twin” that stopped developing in the mother’s womb. If that wasn’t bad enough listen to this:

Lakshmi with her parents

As news of her birth spread among the 500 inhabitants of Rampur Kodar Katti – a remote settlement without electricity or running water – men, women and children queued for a darshan, or blessing, from the baby.

Some reportedly tried to make money from her. The girl’s parents, Shambhu and Poonam, kept her in hiding after a circus apparently tried to buy their daughter, according to a report in the Hindustan Times.

The operation costs £100,000 and requires more than 30 surgeons who will work in eight hour shifts, for an expected total of 40 hours. Without this operation, Lakshmi is unlikely to survive beyond early adolescence.

Operation begins on Indian girl with eight limbs [Telegraph]