KEM Hospital has brought attention to an issue of pending Medico-Legal Case (MLC) samples, with 30 to 40 percent still awaiting to be collected by the police, this year alone since January.
In a letter addressed to Pune police, the hospital authorities expressed their worry about the delay in retrieving crucial MLC samples and sought guidance on the appropriate procedure.
Letter from hospital to police highlighted recurring problem
The letter from the hospital to the police highlighted a recurring problem where samples, including body fluids and retained clothing, required for police investigations as evidence, were not being collected promptly. The hospital, in its communication, stressed the importance of timely action to ensure the completion of police investigations.
In the letter to Pune police, the hospital authorities stated, "We constantly find that in MLC cases where we have to collect samples of body fluids or retain clothes to hand over to the police officials as evidence, these are not taken. These would lie with us for days and sometimes months." They further mentioned that despite notifying the concerned police stations, there were delays in the collection process.
The hospital sought guidance from the police, stating, "We would like to ask for your guidance in such cases so that we can follow the correct procedure laid down and ensure that the police investigation is complete."
Dr Madhur Rao, senior deputy medical administrator, KEM Hospital, expressed concern over the pending MLC samples, particularly in cases related to accidents and poisoning. He highlighted the hospital's efforts to contact the police for sample collection after medical examinations but cited challenges, especially when police stations were located far away.
Dr Rao emphasised the importance of MLC samples as crucial evidence and indicated that the hospital would soon send letters to Pune Rural police and Pimpri-Chinchwad police stations seeking guidance on handling the pending samples.
DCP Sandeep Gill assures that police stations
DCP Sandeep Gill assured that police stations within their jurisdiction were consistently collecting MLC samples. However, he acknowledged the need to investigate instances where samples may not have been collected promptly.
Additional commissioner of police, Ramnath Pokale confirmed receiving the letter from KEM Hospital and stated that they would assess how many pending MLC samples were related to cases in the hospital. “The letter has been circulated to all senior officials and DCP for further action,” he said.
Pune Police Commissioner Reetesh Kumar issued instructions to the Crime Additional and DCP Crime to promptly investigate and address the concerns raised by KEM Hospital regarding the pending MLC samples.
