Indore: In a shocking incident, rats were found to have nibbled a dead body kept in the mortuary of the District Hospital on Saturday morning. The incident was discovered when family members removed the shroud of the body to get the autopsy done.
Meanwhile, those responsible appeared very casual over the incident and announced that they would constitute a committee to probe the matter.
Krishnakant Panchal (41), resident of Sejway Village in Dhar district, had consumed poison on Friday morning and was admitted to city’s Anand Hospital in critical condition where he died.
“My uncle died at 3.30 pm on Friday and after getting the body from hospital, we reached the mortuary of District Hospital at 5.30 pm where staff informed us that the autopsy would be done on Saturday only as they do not perform autopsy in evening,” deceased's nephew Rahul said.
He added they left the body in the mortuary under a fan as no freezer was available there.
“We were shocked on Saturday morning when we saw that the cheeks, nose, and hands of my uncle's body had been nibbled. We will lodge a complaint against the responsible for the negligence after performing last rites of the deceased,” Rahul said.
Meanwhile, mortuary in-charge Dr Bharat Vajpayee confirmed the incident and said that he had left the mortuary at 5 pm and he learnt about the incident on Saturday morning through the ward boy.
“Bodies which reach the mortuary after 5 pm are kept under the fan and autopsy is done the next day. In this case, rats nibbled the cheeks, nose and hands of the body,” Dr Vajpayee said.
Responsible played it casual
“Pest control is being done at District Hospital every week but even then this incident took place. We will constitute a committee to probe the matter and will also try to get the freezer repaired at the earliest.” -Dr Santosh Verma Civil Surgeon
Previous incidents
1 Dead body parts of an infant girl were eaten by the ants in the mortuary of District Hospital in 2016. Four employees were suspended after the incident.
2 Rats nibbled the body of an elderly COVID patient in Unique Hospital in September 2020. Probe committee was constituted in the incident but no action has been taken against those responsible so far.
3 Rats nibbled the toe and ankle of a newborn baby admitted to the nursery of MY Hospital in May 2021. Action was taken against a duty nurse and housekeeping staff of the hospital.
