Lokayukta Y. Bhaskar Rao has taken suo motu cognisance of the death of a two-month-old baby boy and the injuries caused to the body when it was kept in the mortuary of the Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences (HIMS).
Mr. Rao has directed the Hassan Superintendent of Police to register a case of negligence against the person in charge of the mortuary and has also directed the Medical Superintendent of HIMS to conduct an inquiry.
He told the gathering at a grievance redressal meeting here on Wednesday that he had taken action based on newspaper reports. He also spoke to Yogamma, the baby’s mother, who was at the meeting.
According to HIMS authorities, the employee in charge of the mortuary made a mistake and kept the baby’s body in a cold storage cabin under repair, which was why the rats bit it. The employee, Paramesh, has been suspended.
Rache Gowda, director of HIMS and K. Shankar, Medical Superintendent, in a press release on Wednesday, said the institute had taken steps to prevent the bodies from being bitten by rats. “The body was brought to the hospital around 8.30 pm on June 23. It was kept in the mortuary till the doctors of the Forensic Department reached the hospital to conduct post-mortem. The doctors noticed bite marks on the baby’s chin. They called the police, who conducted mahajar before the post-mortem,” the officers said.
The Hassan city police have registered a complaint that the baby died owing to negligence by doctors at the private nursing home.
Facilities inspected
Meanwhile, chairperson of the Karnataka State Commission for Women Manjula Manasa visited HIMS. Ms. Manasa inspected the facilities at the mortuary and instructed the heads of the institution to take disciplinary action against those responsible.
Ms. Manasa told press persons that the police had booked a complaint on charge of causing death owing to negligence. The guilty should be punished. She said that those responsible for lack of facilities at the mortuary should also face action.
She also met Ms. Yogamma.
