Bhubaneswar: A day after the state health department ordered a probe into the matter of withholding a dead body for clearance of dues and an alleged altercation with a BJP MLA on the campus of the health institution, the hospital issued a clarification Sunday.
In a clarification note it said, “…We waited for the family members of the deceased to claim the body. The family members assured us that they would clear the outstanding amount of Rs 12,000 under OSTF (disallowed items) and take the body with them. However, later around 11 am, our billing department was confronted by Mohan Charan Majhi, a local MLA, who came to our premises and demanded a complete discount of the due amount while claiming the body.”
It also added, “In this scenario, the hospital management is fully aware that as per Supreme Court order and OSTF norms, the body cannot be withheld by the hospital authorities. The hospital management spoke to him and requested for a written statement about clearing the dues later before taking away the body.”
The hospital also said that this led to a heated discussion which was later settled by refunding Rs 6000 from the total due amount of Rs 12,000. “The matter was soon amicably resolved and the body was released at 12:25 pm as per hospital records,” the spokesperson of BR Kalinga Hospital said Sunday.
