Thuamul Rampur(Kalahandi): A grieving family in Odisha’s Kalahandi district allegedly had to wait 36 hours and travel to three government hospitals to get a postmortem conducted on the body of a 16-year-old girl who died after a suspected snakebite.
According to reports, Madhuri Majhi, 16, daughter of Kalua Majhi of Barsikana village under Sindhipadar panchayat in Thuamul Rampur police limits, was bitten by a venomous snake Thursday night. Her family admitted her to the Kalampur Community Health Centre (CHC) Friday, where she died during treatment.
As the Kalampur CHC does not have postmortem facilities, police shifted the body to the Thuamul Rampur Community Health Centre. According to police, doctors there initially indicated that the postmortem would be conducted after consulting other medical officers, prompting the family to keep the body at the CHC overnight. However, Saturday morning, a doctor at the Thuamul Rampur CHC allegedly declined to perform the postmortem, saying the death had occurred at Kalampur. Left with no alternative, the family transported the body about 40 km to the Jayapatna Community Health Centre (CHC), where the postmortem was eventually conducted, sources said.
Jayapatna Community Health Officer Dr Subrajit Biswal said Thuamul Rampur CHC had all the required facilities for conducting postmortems and that he could not explain why the body was referred to Jayapatna. He said the hospital completed the postmortem and handed over the body to the family.
Officials at the Thuamul Rampur Community Health Centre, including the concerned doctor, could not be reached for comment.
The incident has sparked resentment among local residents, who alleged negligence by the health department and demanded strict action against those responsible.
PNN