The government of Telangana has suspended four officials for negligence after a stray dog attempted to nibble on a dead body in the mortuary of a government hospital in Jadcherla town. Health Minister Damodar Raja Narsimha took serious action following the incident at the Area Hospital in Jadcherla, Mahabubnagar district. The suspension included the hospital superintendent among the four officials.
A stray dog entered the mortuary on Monday evening and tried to nibble on the finger of a decomposed body brought for post-mortem before being chased away. The body of a 33-year-old man, who died in a drowning case, was brought to the old mortuary of the hospital by the police around 12:30 p.m. on Monday. Later in the day, the stray dog entered and nibbled on the body.
Hospital officials reported that the dog attempted to bite the deceased’s finger, but they managed to chase it away before any harm was done to the body. Following the incident, the duty doctor conducted the post-mortem in the presence of police, and the body was then released to the family members.
The hospital authorities explained that post-mortems are currently being conducted in the old mortuary building due to the new mortuary block not being fully operational yet. They cited the lack of a proper gate, broken walls, and shattered glass panes in the old mortuary as reasons for the stray dog’s entry.
On the orders of Health Minister Raja Narsimha, Telangana Vaidya Vidhana Parishad (TVVP) Commissioner Ajaya Kumar visited the hospital to conduct an inquiry. The Commissioner gathered information from the deceased’s family members, police, eyewitnesses, doctors, and hospital staff. Based on the findings, the Health Minister suspended Hospital Superintendent Dr. Chandrakala, Duty RMO Dr. Harinath, Duty Medical Officer Munisha, and Mortuary Supporting Staff (MNO) Raviprakash for negligence in their duties leading to the incident. Commissioner Ajay Kumar emphasized that strict measures will be taken to prevent such incidents in the future.
