Rats nibble at body kept at Ambedkar medical college mortuary

BENGALURU: Rats nibbled at a body kept in the mortury for post-mortem examination at the Ambedkar Medical College Hospital in Bengaluru. The incident has come as a shock for family of the deceased who are already grieving the loss. The family has vented its ire at the hospital management after seeing the disfigured state of the body.

Rangaswamy (37) was admitted to a private hospital in Seshadripuram for hernia treatment. He was then shifted to Ambedkar Medical College Hospital in KG Halli after complications arose during surgery on Monday, where doctor pronounced dead. His body kept in the mortuary of Ambedkar Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem examination, but rats had nibbled at his organs including the nose and eyelids, despite being kept in cold storage.

Rangaswamy’s brother alleged negligence by the hospital and demanded action against the medical staff. “There is no protection even for lifeless bodies here”, he remarked.

The family had decided to file a complaint against doctor of the Seshadripuram hospital for alleged negligence in treating Rangaswamy. Hence, they had kept the body in the mortuary until return. But the body had been mutilated by rats by the time they returned. The hospital authorities admitted to the allegations and apologised. The family is now demanding justice and action against those responsible.

When the deceased family questioned the hospital management, Resident Medical Officer Dr Devnath admitted to the mistake. “The hospital premises is close to a drainage and people throw food waste everywhere. We had not noticed the rat menace. We have informed the administrative board, and measures will be taken to prevent such incidents in the future”, he said.