A shocking incident at the district hospital in Uttarakhand's Haridwar has caused distress and anger among the family members of a deceased individual after rats were found gnawing at the corpse stored in the hospital mortuary. Following the discovery, the family vandalised parts of the hospital and staged a sit-in protest demanding accountability.
Family’s account of the incident
Manoj Kumar, a family member, recounted the events, stating, "When I reached the hospital, I talked to the doctor. The doctor told me to take him to the hospital, and that his postmortem will be done in the morning. When I saw the body in the morning, it had been gnawed by rats. Those responsible for this should be suspended." The family’s allegations highlight severe lapses in mortuary management, sparking public outrage.
Police response and investigation measures
SP City Abhay Pratap Singh commented on the situation, saying, "A dead body was kept in the mortuary of the district hospital. The family alleges that some parts of his eye were marked with a mark indicating an animal attack, which they said was a rat. Our primary task was to pacify the people and maintain peace."
In response, the district administration has set up a high-level committee, headed by the ADM and including technical medical experts, to investigate the incident thoroughly. This committee aims to ascertain the facts surrounding the incident and recommend necessary actions.
Hospital authorities clarify status of post-mortem
The Associate Chief Medical Officer (ACMO) in charge at the hospital stated that the post-mortem has not yet been completed, emphasising ongoing procedural work. The hospital has committed to cooperating fully with the investigation and addressing the family’s concerns.
