In a shocking incident, doctors of a government health centre in Barmer, carried out autopsies on two bodies beside a road earlier this week, drawing protests from locals and seeking probe into the matter. Health officials however justified the action as done on “humanitarian grounds” on the family’s request as there was no mortuary within 100 kms.
The post-mortem on the women, who were electrocuted, was performed outside the Gadara Road community health centre Wednesday, the staff claimed.
While CHC-in-charge Dr Ashok Meena did not respond to calls, Barmer’s Chief Medical and Health Officer Dr Kamlesh Chaudhary said, “The post-mortem of the women were conducted within the campus premises and we had set up curtains. The closest mortuary is 90 kilometres away, and the condition of bodies wasn’t such that we could keep them any longer. At the family’s request and with their approval, the post-mortem was conducted at the CHC on humanitarian grounds. If there is lapse on part of anyone, we will take action.”
Villagers, however, were far from impressed by Mr Choudhary’s explanation. Several among them claimed that open-air autopsies were a common occurrence in the area, and amounted to robbing the dead of their dignity.
According to police, Maya Kanwar (30) living in Barmer’s Gadara Road came in contact with an electric line when she was hanging clothes on an iron wire on the rooftop of her house on Tuesday. Hearing her screams, her mother-in-law Raja Devi and father-in-law Padam Singh rushed to save her but they also received electric shocks.
The three were rushed to the health centre where both the women were declared brought dead while Singh was referred to a Barmer hospital for treatment, police said.
