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Kerala Kaumudi Online
Thursday, 28 March 2024 11.05 PM IST

Even shirts and combs bought for corpses are resold; mortuary scene from Kerala

mortuary-

KOTTAYAM: Extortion by ambulance staff and photographers at Kottayam Medical College and District General Hospital mortuaries. They charge a cutthroat amount if the death is in mysterious situations. The authorities are also turning a blind eye as they get their share. Relatives who will be waiting to receive the dead body to cremate it as soon as possible after the post-mortem will pay the demanded amount, and this situation is being misused by them. When the dead body is taken for post-mortem, the staff will force the relatives to buy new mundu, shirts, pillows, powder, spray, etc. Up to a dozen, post-mortems are conducted at the Medical College Hospital every day. It is alleged that the items bought for one or two people are also used for other post-mortems. The rest will be sold in the regular shop and the employees will share the money among each other. Some private ambulance drivers also charge up to Rs 500 to take the dead body out of the mortuary in addition to the exorbitant fare.

Four thousand to take pictures

When the police prepare an inquest into a mysterious death, photographs of the wounds on the body are taken for future reference. As Gandhinagar police do not have their own photographer, the pictures are taken by outsiders. The relatives of the dead have to pay for this and Rs 4000 is charged for this. This loot is for taking just four to five photographs. Earlier the charge was Rs. 1000. Gandhinagar police have received complaints in this regard but the action is far away.

Doors will be opened for them

Although the law prohibits outsiders from entering the post-mortem room, no one stops the ambulance drivers and photographers who gather as assistants. Kottayam District General Hospital also conducts many post-mortems. Here too, money is the main thing for the ambulance staff who join as helpers.

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TAGS: MORTUARY, MEDICAL, COLLEGE, HOSPITAL
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