Bhopal, Apr 6 (PTI) The Madhya Pradesh Human Rights Commission (MPHRC) has sought a report from health authorities over a shocking incident where the unclaimed body of a man was found rotting in a defunct mortuary freezer at a government hospital in Sagar district, an official said on Thursday.
The body was found infested with maggots after the staff of Civil Hospital in Bina town kept it in a non-functioning freezer of the mortuary where it remained unattended for three days. After the incident came to light on Tuesday, the block medical officer (BMO) was removed from his post and a show-cause notice issued to him.
The human rights panel said the episode reflected a major lapse on part of health officials.
“In a major lapse, the body of a man kept by the police in a mortuary for a post-mortem was found infested with maggots. This happened because the deep freezer was not functioning in the morgue,” MPHRC member Rajiv Kumar Tandon said.
The technician who came to repair the defunct deep freezer was unable to bear the stench inside the mortuary and went away without completing his task, he said, adding the body was later buried in a hurry after an autopsy.
It came to light that the deep freezer was non-functional for last 12 days, Tandon said.
Taking serious note of negligence on part of the hospital administration, the MPHRC has directed the chief medical and health officer (CMHO) of the district to submit a detailed report within three to four weeks, another official said.
The commission has also sought to know if there was an annual maintenance contract (AMC) for the deep freezer, he said.
Sagar District Collector Deepak Arya has formed a separate three-member committee to inquiry into the matter.
The unclaimed body of a man was found in Uraiya village on the night of April 1 and it was shifted to the hospital for a post-mortem examination, Bina police station in-charge Kamal Nigwal said on Wednesday.
The body was shifted to the Civil Hospital’s mortuary, where it was kept in a freezer. However, health employees did not inform them that the freezer was not working, Nigwal said.
On the other hand, block medical officer (BMO) Sanjeev Agrawal claimed he was not informed by the employees concerned that the freezer was not working.
A post-mortem examination on the body was delayed as the deceased could not be identified for three days, he said.
Agrawal claimed the body was partially rotten and maggots were seen only on some parts of the corpse.
The BMO said after the matter was brought to his knowledge, an autopsy was conducted on Tuesday. PTI MAS RSY RSY
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