Railways, hospital pulled up for branding victims’ bodies

Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Friday reprimanded the railways and hospital authorities when it came to know that numbers were scribbled on the foreheads of the bodies of the 23 victims of the Parel -Elphinstone FOB stampede, which occurred on September 29. The court said "It is not the way to handle dead bodies in such situations. Dead bodies should have been treated with dignity and hospitals should have adopted a humane approach."

A division bench comprising of Justice N.H.Patil and Justice N.W. Sambre was hearing a PIL filed by activist Pradeep Bhalekar, who sought that railway authorities be booked under charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder as their negligence had led to the incident. On September 29, a stampede occurred on the narrow  bridge at Elphinstone station during peak hours. Due to heavy rain, the bridge was crowded and 23 people died.  

On Thursday, Nitin Satpute, petitioner lawyer informed the court that the 23 dead bodies, which had been sent to hospitals for post mortem were not handled properly. They had a number written on their foreheads with a marker, which annoyed their relatives. The court then expressed its displeasure, saying, “The first time a grief-stricken relative sees the body and it has such a mark on the forehead. Common sense should prevail in such situations.” It asked  government to reveal if there were guidelines in place to handle dead bodies in the hospital before and after post-mortem. It also suggested the need for a disaster cell  to handle such situations.Assistant Government pleader Prajakta Shinde told the court that a complaint had been registered against the hospital and investigation is going on. The matter will be heard on January 18.