INDIA: Unattended dead body eaten by rats in public hospital

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received shocking information from MASUM, a human rights organisation in West Bengal regarding the dead body of Anarkali Bibi. It was learnt that the hospital authority abandoned the late Anarkali‘s body to an area infested with rats. This is not only a case of negligence but also one of utter failure in discharging legal obligations. The body of the late Anarkali was handled in such an appalling and undignified manner by the Hospital authorities concerned.

On the afternoon of 11 June 2006, Anarkali Bibi was frustrated over domestic problems and attempted to commit suicide by hanging herself from the ceiling in her room. However, she was found by family members who took her immediately to the Katwa Sub divisional Hospital at about 7.15pm where she was admitted to the female ward under Dr. Jatai Krishna Mondal. Sadly her condition was so critical that at 8:30pm she died.

The Anarkali family requested for the body in order to arrange for a funeral. The hospital authority turned down their request on the basis that the body was still in need of a post-mortem examination. They asked the relatives to return the next day for the body which was then left abandoned and unattended at the hospital.

The sordid episode happened between the time of Anarkali’s death and her post mortem examination. On June 12 (Monday), when Anarkali’s family members arrived at Katwa Sub Divisional Hospital, they had initially failed to identify Anarkali’s body as her face was already mutilated beyond recognition. They found Anarkali’s body had been ripped and torn apart by rats and cockroaches. The scene was horrifying to witness.  The corps was in a horrendous state and had been left in the open, unpreserved and was vested with creatures.

The statement of Mr. Thirthendu Ganguly, Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of Katwa Police Station corroborated with the claims, which stated that the bed was full of bugs and other insects. Parts of Anarkali’s body were bitten off throughout the night with visible marks remaining.

The family members tried to lodge a complaint with Hospital Superintendent, Dr. Goutam Ghosh but he refused to meet with them. The relatives became angry and began to protest. The Superintendent called the police who then battened the protestors in order to disperse them. Some time later the relatives of Anarkali were finally allowed to lodge a written complaint with the Hospital Superintendent.

According to Section 174 (3) (i) of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cr.P.C), if death of any woman takes place within seven years of the marriage, post mortem and magisterial inquiry become essential requirements. This provision was incorporated into the Cr.P.C in 1983 following an amendment to the Indian Penal Code incorporating Section 498 A, thus criminalising acts of cruelty against women by her husband or relatives of the husband.

Section 174 (3) (v) also mandates “[T]he police officer for any reason considers it expedient so to do, he shall, subject such rules as the State Government may prescribe in this behalf, forward the body, with a view to it being examined, to the nearest, Civil Surgeon, or other qualified medical man [emphasis added] appointed in this behalf by the State Government…without the risk of putrefaction on the road as would render such examination useless].

Anarkali had attempted to commit suicide within one year of her marriage. Therefore Mr. Pyne, the Executive Magistrate made an inquiry under Section 174 of Cr. P.C with the result being that a post-mortem examination was carried out. Dr. S. Roy, a radiologist under hospital registration number 169 undertook the post mortem examination on 12 June 2006. However, the body was already in an unrecognisable condition.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Government run hospitals and public healthcare facilities in India are deteriorating by the day. MASUM has been monitoring the post mortem system in West Bengal for some time issuing statements and appeals urging the government to take immediate notice (please see ref. UG-04-2005, UP-18-2004 and UP-138-2005 for further information).

This deterioration also has a direct impact upon the forensic facilities available in these public hospitals. The autopsy conducted upon a person is a goldmine of information regarding the cause of death. This report also plays a pivotal role in criminal cases, particularly where the evidence regarding the guilt of the accused could be only proved through such reports. The absence of proper care and caution while dealing with bodies during forensic procedures results in gross miscarriage of justice. Contrary to the law, in many hospitals, mortuaries are under the lock and key of police officers. This provides police officers ample opportunity to manipulate and tamper with the evidence.

In most cases the autopsy and autopsy reports are not prepared by a qualified medical practitioner but by helpers who are employed on daily wages to clean the mortuary. In many hospitals, the mortuaries are not equipped with freezers to keep the bodies intact and with equipment required to conduct the autopsy examination. The hospitals also lack qualified hands to conduct such examinations owing to the lack of filling vacancies. All these deficiencies are exploited by the police, particularly in cases of custodial death. This is an area of concern in India which the AHRC has been trying to address in the past two years. However, as of today no change has been brought to the situation.

The case mentioned above is yet another shocking example of the horrifying state of the public healthcare system in West Bengal and no authority has been willing to address the issue. When government authorities were approached regarding the conditions at another hospital, the Basirhat Hospital Morgue, in a similar incident but they avoided responsibility by pointing to a lack of funding or said that it was the failure of some other government agencies.

It is a stark reflection on the government if it continues to tolerate the current conditions in the state’s public hospitals. This is by no means an isolated case and many hospitals have similar if not more dismal facilities and attitudes. Whenever a person gets treatment from a hospital, it is under the purview of the health department. However, if a person dies from an unnatural cause, such facilities and initiatives stand with the home department. The Officer in Charge of Katowa police station, himself accepted that the morgue within the hospital is pathetic. Dead bodies would inevitably rot if sent to the morgue.

This case and the many others like it should question the government system and its mechanism regarding their approach towards the people, not only with the living but also with the dead. A minimum respect to the dead is being breached on a day-to-day basis and urgent reforms must be implemented to address this. For further information regarding ideal and standard conditions for autopsy procedures please refer to: http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/executioninvestigation-91.html. The site is maintained by the University of Minnesota – Human Rights Library.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please send a letter to the relevant authorities listed below regarding the condition of Katwa Sub Divisional Hospital mortuary and your concerns in respect to post mortem procedures.

Automated email letters can be sent by the AHRC Urgent Appeals on-line support system. To support this appeal please refer to http://www.ahrchk.net/support.php?ua=UA-206-2006. For those contacts without an email address, we ask that you still write a letter and post or fax this. If you have any problems or questions using this system, please feel free to contact us at ua@ahrchk.org.

 

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER