Family's anguish: Doc demanded 10k bribe for autopsy of drowned kids

Time of India

20-05-2025

Raipur: The bodies of two little children lay rotting for several hours at a primary health centre (PHC) in Chhattisgarh's Surguja district allegedly because a doctor demanded Rs 10,000 for each post-mortem examination.
The autopsies were conducted only when the stench got media and public attention.
Block medical officer Raghavendra Choubey has been suspended, chief medical and health officer Dr. P S Marko said on Tuesday. The accused doctor, Aman Jaiswal — who was posted at the PHC on bond — has been attached to the directorate of health in Raipur.
The Surguja collector has recommended action against the doctor and ordered a compensation of Rs 4 lakh each for the children's families, Dr.
Marko said.
The victims — five-year-old Jugnu Giri and his cousin, four-year-old Suraj Giri — drowned in a 20x20 ft water-filled pit in Silsila village, around 360km from Raipur, on Sunday afternoon.
The kids' grandfather, Sudgir Giri, had spotted them walking towards a waterbody dug by villagers for daily use. Sensing the danger, he warned them not to. Jugnu and Suraj returned home.
A little later, when the rest of the family had gone out for work, the two children again went to the pit to take a bath and drowned between 2pm and 2:30pm.
"My sister-in-law noticed the children's absence and alerted me. I went looking for them and was horrified to find them floating in the pit. I immediately pulled them out and tried to pump water out of their bodies," said Jugnu's father Shiv Giri.
Villagers gathered around and called for a govt ambulance, but were told that it would take half an hour, said Giri. "Every second was crucial. So, instead of waiting, we carried the children on a motorcycle to the primary health centre at Raghunathpur, around 8km from our village," Giri said.
The doctor declared the children dead and asked for a post-mortem. The anguished family was keen on performing the last rites before sunset, as is custom, and did not want the bodies ;'cut up', so they initially refused the post-mortem.
They returned home around 7pm on Sunday, but it was already too late for the last rites. They informed the village sarpanch and chowkidar, who advised them to get the post-mortem done to claim govt compensation of Rs 4 lakh, which requires official autopsy records.
Giri then contacted local police, who advised them to take the bodies back to the hospital for post-mortem.
On Monday, the family arrived at the hospital around 7am. A nurse asked them to place the bodies in the post-mortem room and the doctor arrived around 9:30am.
"Instead of performing the post-mortem, the doctor ignored us till afternoon. 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 cost Rs 10,000 each today. When the news spread, the media became aware of the matter, and public representatives intervened. The doctor finally conducted the post-mortem. After that, we were not even provided a vehicle to carry the bodies home.
We again carried them back on a motorcycle," Shiv told TOI.
CMHO Dr Marko said further action will be based on the administration's probe report.