Odisha: VIMSAR doctor performs last rites of destitute patient, CM appreciates gesture

The doctor identified as Dr Shankar Ramchandani took the responsibility of performing the last rites of the patient who was left in front of the hospital by unidentified people. The woman had been in the female medicine ward of the hospital for the last more than three years.

As per a recent media report, the woman was a resident of village Jalebira in Sonepur district and had suffered a paralysis attack when some unknown people left her at the casualty of VIMSAR on July 12, 2018. She then started receiving treatment at the female medicine ward of the hospital and was undergoing treatment at the hospital since then.

However, the woman passed away on Saturday. When no one contacted the authorities to claim the body authorities decided to bury it as an unclaimed body.

Meanwhile, Ramchandani expressed his intention of giving a dignified farewell to the destitute woman and requested to permit her proper cremation. After securing the required permission, Ramchandani made arrangements to take the body to the cremation ground in Burla and himself also lit the pyre. "I will perform all the other rituals, which are followed. I have also decided to submerge the remains," stated Ramchandani.

Appreciating the gesture of the doctor, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik took to Twitter and said, " Appreciation for Dr. Shankar Ramchandani, an Assistant Professor in VIMSAR Burla for coming forward to perform the last rites of a 62-year-old destitute woman to give her a dignified farewell. This compassionate gesture will set an example in society."

Talking to Times of India Ramchandani said that considering that the woman had received treatment at the female medicine ward for the last more than three years, all staff of the department including nurses, attendants, and doctors had developed an emotional attachment with the woman.

He further added, " I had also talked to her several times. She was a married woman but her husband had deserted her and got married to another woman. I had never seen anyone from her family or her in-law's family visiting the hospital to inquire about her in the last three years. I knew that no one would claim the body of Puspanjali. But as she had stayed more than three years with us, I thought that it would be improper if the body was disposed of as an unclaimed body. Hence, I decided to give a dignified farewell to the elderly woman."