A 35-year-old disabled man lay dead in a government hospital in Morena in Madhya Pradesh with ants all over his wound but staff at the facility only found out several hours later after other patients alerted them to a stink emanating from his bed, a doctor said on Friday.
Devendra Verma, a resident of Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh turned unresponsive on Wednesday night but staff found out he had died only after patients in the ward complained of an odour on Thursday morning.
The hospital's civil surgeon, Dr Ashok Gupta, admitted that staff at the facility do not know when Verma died, and also agreed that patients alerted them.
Gupta said he came to know about the death at around 8am on Thursday, and Verma, who had complained of frequent bowel movements, may have died much earlier.
He said police were informed when Verma was admitted in the hospital but his kin could not be traced, and relatives reached the hospital only after news about his death went viral on social media.
"Verma, a disabled person, was admitted on July 21, and we later found out his sister stays in Ganeshpura area of Gwalior. He had a wound on his back which was overrun by ants post his death," Gupta said.
However, nursing staff at the hospital alleged they had informed the civil surgeon about the rapid deterioration in Verma's condition and that he be shifted for treatment to Gwalior, but in vain.
Police said a case had been registered and probe was underway in the incident.
