Katihar hospital admn denies him dignity even in death

PATNA: It was a shocking picture of officials' apathy in Katihar after Dana Manjhi of Kalahandi in Odisha was seen carrying his wife's dead body on his shoulder after having been denied a mortuary van last month. In Bihar, the family members of Chintu Sah (21) were forced to carry his decomposed body for at least 2km on Monday after the Katihar hospital administration did not provide them ambulance to carry his body to Bhagalpur for postmortem.The family members were provided ambulance only after the shocking scene of carrying the body wrapped in a plastic sheet went viral. Chintu drowned in the Ganga on September 14 and his body was recovered on Sunday under Kursela police station in Katihar district.
His body was brought to Katihar hospital morgue for postmortem the same day, but the doctors on Monday referred it to Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital in Bhagalpur as it was badly decomposed.
"The body was carried in a plastic sheet almost for two kilometres by Chintu's family members," Katihar DM Lalan Jee confirmed to TOI on Tuesday. When the district administration came to know about it, the hospital authorities were immediately directed to arrange an ambulance to carry the body to Bhagalpur with dignity, he said.
"The hospital administration should have provided an ambulance," the DM said, adding that it was a serious case of negligence on the part of the hospital administration. He also said a committee headed by deputy development commissioner (DDC) B D Singh and comprising Sadar SDO and SDPO has been set up to investigate the matter and submit a report within 48 hours.
When contacted, Katihar civil surgeon Shyam Chandra Jha said police should have informed him about the requirement of a vehicle to carry the body to Bhagalpur for postmortem.
"It is the responsibility of police to arrange vehicle for carrying bodies for postmortem," he said, adding that nobody was ready to carry the body in a vehicle due to the foul smell emanating from it.
Jha said the postmortem could not be carried out on Sunday as it was brought late in the evening. However, Kursela police station SHO Sanjay Das said the body was sent to the hospital at around 1pm on Sunday.