The Telangana Health Department has ordered an inquiry into allegations that a man was locked inside a mortuary overnight in the Mahabubabad Government General Hospital (GGH) on October 30, Thursday. The inquiry was initiated after local media reports claimed that a man seeking treatment at the hospital had fallen unconscious, mistaken for a corpse and left inside the morgue by hospital staff.
Hospital authorities however dismissed the allegations, stating that it is not possible to survive in such low temperatures for hours.
A three-member committee comprising Dr V Chandra Sekhar, Superintendent of Government General Hospital, Mulugu; Dr Gopal Rao, Professor and Head of General Surgery, Government General Hospital, Jangaon; and Dr. Sridhara Chary, Professor and Head of Forensic Science, Government Medical College, Siddipet have been appointed to submit a report on the matter, reports said.
As per early reports, on October 30, 45-year-old Vendi Raju, a driver from Bayyaram village in Chinnagudur mandal, had gone to the hospital seeking treatment for a kidney ailment. Reports say the doctors allegedly refused treatment as he did not have his Aadhaar card.
Raju later collapsed outside the hospital, and the staff, mistaking him for an unidentified corpse, allegedly placed him in the mortuary. He was discovered alive the next morning by a sweeper cleaning the facility and was immediately shifted to another ward, reports claimed.
However, the hospital administration has denied the allegations. According to Hospital Superintendent Dr Srinivas Rao, Raju collapsed in front of the mortuary gate. “Some bystanders noticed him and helped move him to a nearby bench in the open area beside the mortuary. First aid was provided to him there, after which he was shifted to the hospital for further treatment,” he was quoted as saying by The Hindu.
He clarified that Raju was never placed inside the mortuary. “If anyone is kept inside a mortuary, overnight survival will not be possible in such extreme low temperatures,” he said.