Highlights
- The bodies were recovered from the roof of Nishtar Hospital's mortuary
- Social media reports claimed hundreds of human body parts were also recovered
- There were rumours the bodies were kept on the roof to be used as fodder for eagles and vultures
Pakistan: At least 200 decayed bodies were found dumped on the rooftop of a public sector hospital in Pakistan's Punjab province on Friday. According to the details, the bodies were recovered from the roof of Nishtar Hospital's mortuary in Multan after which the government ordered a probe.
Social media reports claimed hundreds of human body parts were also recovered from the roof.
Videos circulating on social media on Friday showed several bodies dumped on the roof in a bad condition, sparking rumours that the bodies were kept on the roof to be used as fodder for eagles and vultures.
The Baloch separatists on social media are claiming that these could be the bodies of their missing persons.
Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Parvez Elahi on Friday took strict notice of the incident and formed a high-powered committee to investigate the matter.
The six-member committee headed by specialised healthcare secretary Muzamil Bashir has been given three days to complete the probe and fix the responsibility.
Adviser to the Chief Minister Chaudhry Zaman Gujjar on Thursday visited the Nishter Hospital in Multan, some 350 kms from Lahore, and found several "abandoned" bodies on the roof of the hospital's mortuary.
Gujjar said a whistleblower tipped him off about the rotting bodies on the roof of the mortuary at Nishtar Hospital, reported news agency ANI reported quoting Geo News.
"I was on a visit in Nishtar Hospital when a man approached me and said if you want to do a good deed then go the morgue and check it out," Gujjar said.
He said when he reached there the staff wasn't ready to open the doors of the mortuary.
"To this, I said if you don't open it right now, I am going to file an FIR against you," Gujjar added.
He said when the morgue was finally opened and they stepped in only to find at least 200 bodies lying around.
"All the decomposing bodies (of both men and women) were bare. Even women's bodies weren't covered."
Gujjar said when he asked them (doctors) to explain what was going on they said these were used by the medical students for educational purposes.
"Do you sell these bodies? I asked the mortuary authorities."
Gujjar said he asked doctors to explain the incident and in response, they said it was not what it looked like as these were used by the medical students for educational purposes, the report stated.
"Two of the bodies on the roof were rather in the early stages of decomposition. Maggots were all over them," Gujjar said.
He said he had never seen anything like it in his 50 years of life.
"Vultures and worms were scavenging on the corpses on the roof. Our tally showed there were at least 35 bodies on the rooftop of the mortuary."
"The bodies after being used for medical education purposes should have been given a proper burial after Namaz-e-Janaza, but they were thrown on the roof," Gujjar said.
The chief minister has ordered cremation of the abandoned bodies and directed the health authorities to take action against the employees involved in the matter.
Nishtar Medical University’s Prof Dr. Maryam Asharf said in a statement on Friday that it received “unclaimed, unidentified and unknown dead bodies” from the police department.
“The process of decomposition has begun in such bodies and they were put on the roof of the dead house for different medical purposes. These bodies are used for medical experiments by students and this is done in accordance with rules laid down of the government,” she said.
“This is not unusual as bones and skulls are extracted for further medical use,” Ashraf said.
(With inputs from agencies)
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