Rajasthan Couple Locked Up In Mortuary With Son's Body

A hospital peon was suspended after he allegedly locked a tribal couple along with their son's body in a mortuary for three hours in Pratapgarh district of Rajasthan, police said. The couple's son was admitted at a government hospital in Pratapgarh in a critical condition on Saturday. He died early Sunday morning, police said.

The body was sent to the morgue for post-mortem, to be conducted later in the morning, but the couple refused to leave the body, police said. The peon Ram Pratap Dhobi allegedly locked them inside the morgue and went to sleep.

Chhotu, a 10-year-old boy from Haro village under Peepal Khoont police station, sustained severe injured after he fell from a tree while playing. His parents took him to the civil hospital at the district headquarters. After the child died past midnight, doctors on duty sent the body to the mortuary for autopsy at 4 am.

At the mortuary, when the peon asked the couple, Ramesh Meena and Rakmi, to leave so that he could lock the room, they refused to part with the child's body. The peon let them stay inside, locked the door and left, police said.

At 7.30 am when the authorities were informed of the incident, they unlocked the door and the couple was allowed to take the body without post-mortem, police said.

The Chief Medical and Health Officer or CMHO has formed a committee and directed it to submit a report on the incident, sources said.

"It is neither advisable nor permissible that any living person be locked inside the mortuary under any circumstances," CMHO Dr Radhey Shyam Kachhawa said.

"If the couple was not ready to leave the body, the employee should have reported the matter to his seniors. We have suspended the employee and put him on 'awaited posting order'," Mr Kachhawa said.