Illegal sale of dead bodies at city hospitals

The number of unclaimed and unidentified dead bodies lying in the government hospital mortuaries’ is increasing every year by almost 10 per cent.

According to the ‘missing people’ complaints filed at the Satya Harishchandra Foundation (SHF), an NGO that cremates unknown, unclaimed dead bodies there is a steady increase over the last few years.

The foundation that cremated 1,145 bodies in 2011, held last rites for 1,330 bodies in 2012, an increase of 184 bodies compared to the previous year.

These bodies are usually received from Osmania government Hospital and Gandhi Hospital.

The NGO officials say that they have established the foundation in 2004 and ever since they have been witnessing a regular increase in the number unidentified, unclaimed dead bodies.

In 2006, a total of 176 bodies were cremated and the figures have doubled in the recent years.

“The density of the population in Hyderabad has also increased with a lot of rural population migrating to the city.

Many people desert their family members in the hospital unable to take care of them,” explains secretary of SHF Mahesh Kumar.

The founder and general secretary of SHF K Rajeshwar Rao, added that while the number of bodies from Gandhi (673) are higher compared to OGH (657) this year, which is usually the other way around.

“This year’s number is still low compared to 736 bodies in cremated from OGH.

The reason is that there is an illegal sale of dead bodies from that hospital to private medical colleges.

Though it is permitted to sell unclaimed, unidentified dead bodies it should be done with the consent of the police, following several other protocols,” says Rao.

Mahesh Kumar also mentions that although both the hospitals sell around 15 dead bodies a month for `15,000 per body, few workers at the hospital sell more dead bodies illegally.

When Express contacted the OGH authorities on the issue, they refused to comment on the topic and said no such illegal sale of dead bodies is taking place.

However, Rao said otherwise.

“Medical colleges require a number of bodies for dissection.

Many bodies are even sent to other states like Kerala, Delhi as the law in those places doesn’t permit the sale of dead bodies, instead encourages people to donate.

He said according to the GO number 231, only unclaimed dead bodies can be also but not unidentified ones.

“Unknown bodies should be given to police,” said Kumar.

Rajeshwar Rao also said that after the number bodies arriving from OGH had declined in 2010 to 533 from 736 in 2009 and he filed an RTI application at all police zones.

“According to the RTI report, 593 unclaimed/unknown bodies were sent from the police stations to the hospitals between January 2010 - September 2011 and they were sent to us for cremation,” he adds.

He says that a majority of these dead bodies are from rural areas, economically poor who cannot afford medical care, mentally disturbed and elderly people left by their children from old city areas.

The attitude of the hospital authorities should change.

The tracing of the missing persons has come down from 27 per cent in 2008 to less than 7 per cent in 2012,” Rao ascertained.

Thursday 17 January 2013

http://newindianexpress.com/cities/hyderabad/article1423715.ece