Hyderabad, March 3 – The Telangana government suspended four officials for negligence following an incident in which a stray dog attempted to bite a corpse in the mortuary of a government hospital in the town of Jadcherla.
Taking serious note of the shocking incident at the Area Hospital in Jadcherla, in the Mahabubnagar district, Health Minister Damodar Raja Narsimha ordered the suspension of four officials, including the hospital superintendent, on Tuesday.
A stray dog reportedly entered the mortuary on Monday evening and attempted to bite the finger of a decomposing body brought for post-mortem before being chased away.
The body of a 33-year-old man was brought to the old mortuary of the hospital by the police at around 12:30 p.m. on Monday. The man had died in a drowning incident. Around 5 p.m., a stray dog entered the mortuary and attempted to bite the body.
Hospital officials said that the dog attempted to bite the finger of the deceased. They claimed that those present chased away the dog before it could damage the body.
After the incident, the on-duty doctor conducted the post-mortem in the presence of the police, and the body was handed over to the family members.
According to hospital authorities, the post-mortems are conducted in the old mortuary building located in the previous hospital premises, as the newly-constructed mortuary block has not yet become fully operational.
They explained that the old mortuary lacked a proper gate and had broken walls and shattered glass panes, which allowed a stray dog to enter the premises.
On the directions of Health Minister Raja Narsimha, Telangana Vaidya Vidhana Parishad (TVVP) Commissioner, Ajaya Kumar, visited the hospital on Tuesday morning and conducted an inquiry.
The Commissioner gathered details from the deceased's family members, police, eyewitnesses, doctors, and hospital staff.
Based on his findings, the Health Minister ordered the suspension of Hospital Superintendent Dr. Chandrakala, Duty RMO Dr. Harinath, Duty Medical Officer Munisha, and Mortuary Supporting Staff (MNO) Raviprakash. They were found to be negligent in their duties, which resulted in the incident.
Commissioner Ajay Kumar said that strict action will be taken to prevent such incidents from happening again.