Chhattisgarh doctor sacked for demanding bribe for post-mortem of 2 children

Following their death, a post-mortem was required, but when the family returned to the hospital early Monday morning, they faced an unexpected shock. The doctor on duty allegedly asked for Rs 10,000 per body to conduct the autopsy. This is something that is done free of cost under government rules. 

"On Monday, we arrived at the hospital around 7 am. But the doctor arrived around 9.30 am. The bodies started smelling. When I asked the doctor, he told me that he would have done the post-mortem on Sunday, free of cost, as per govt rules, but it would now cost Rs 10,000 each," one of the family members told TOI. 

However, the postmortems were subsequently conducted on Monday after local villagers put pressure on the administration. 

Taking action against the accused doctor, Surguja Collector Vilas Bhoskar, immediately ordered an inquiry into the bribe allegations. Based on the inquiry, Block Medical Officer (BMO) was suspended, and the contractual medical officer at the Raghunathpur PHC was removed from his position.

Preliminary investigation suggested that the Block Medical Officer committed negligence in discharging his duties. The contractual medical officer was found guilty of negligence, and his conduct was also against service rules. He was relieved of his duties and directed to immediately report to the Director, Health Services, in Raipur.

Collector Bhoskar inspected Raghunathpur PHC and later visited the homes of the two kids, where he met their family members and expressed condolences. He announced financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh each to the kin of the deceased under disaster management rules.

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