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Dignity Denied: Stillborn Body Abandoned for Five Days
12 Jul
Summary
- Stillborn baby's body was left in a box for five days.
- Hospital cited police verification issues for the delay.
- An internal inquiry has been ordered into the hospital's lapse.
At Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Medical College Hospital in Jabalpur, the body of a stillborn infant was left in a cardboard box for five days, highlighting a severe lapse in dignity for the deceased and distress for the grieving family. The baby was delivered via surgery on Monday after being declared dead in the womb. Instead of being transferred to the mortuary, the infant's body, marked with the mother's details, remained by the operation theatre.
Hospital officials explained that police verification of the mother's age, recorded as 17 by the hospital but later confirmed as 20 by authorities, caused the delay. This bureaucratic hold-up meant the body stayed in the box until Saturday, when the family, after declining a post-mortem, finally received it for the last rites. The incident has sparked public outrage and prompted an internal hospital inquiry.
Authorities are investigating whether procedural errors by the hospital or police contributed to the prolonged delay. This unfortunate event underscores how administrative failures can strip the most vulnerable of basic dignity, leaving the family to navigate a difficult process under heartbreaking circumstances.
