Skeletons found in Muzaffarpur hospital, no AES links: District magistrate

PATNA: Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) in Muzaffarpur, the epicentre of acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) deaths, on Saturday found itself caught in another controversy after skeletons were found in its backyard.
There was considerable sensation in the town as word about the presence of the skeletons behind the hospital building spread. Attendants of some patients reportedly stumbled upon the human remains and brought the matter to the notice of hospital authorities.Locals said one or two skeletons were burnt while the others were strewn on the ground or stuffed into plastic sacks.
SKMCH superintendent S K Shahi asked the district magistrate to conduct a detailed investigation into the recovery of the human skeletons. He said it is the responsibility of the principal of the medical college to dispose of unclaimed bodies. The photographs and belongings of the dead are kept with police for investigation.
SHO (Ahiyapur police station) Sona Singh said, “As soon as we heard about the incident, our personnel visited the hospital.” He added, “The skeletons were the mortal remains had long been consigned to flames according to the provisions of the law. As a result, we did not send them for any forensic tests.”
District magistrate (Muzaffarpur) Alok Ranjan Ghosh ruled out any links between the human remains and the AES deaths that have occurred in the hospital in recent days. He said, “Soon after we received the reports about the skeletons, we asked the SDO and the city SP to investigate and submit a report.”
In their report, the SDO and the SP said the skeletons were mortal remains of unclaimed bodies, which were disposed of after the completion of legal formalities by police and hospital authorities. Ghosh said, “As per the rules, bodies of unidentified persons are disposed of after preserving them for 72 hours in the mortuary. The district administration gives Rs 2,000 for the cremation of every unclaimed body.” The place where the skeletons were found is located close to the mortuary.
Ghosh said the practice of disposing unclaimed bodies behind the hospital building has been going on for long. He added, “The cremation site is just a stone’s throw from the hospital. This could be one of the reasons of confusion about today’s incident. We have now decided to immediately shift the cremation site to Dadar Ghat.”
Ghosh said unclaimed bodies of children below five and those of Muslims are buried while the bodies of Hindus are consigned to flames in cases of unnatural death. He added, “In the present case, the skeletons were those of Hindus.”
Muzaffarpur, 80km north of Patna, had witnessed a similar incident in 2016 when skeletons were found behind the SKMCH building. Media reports had then claimed that skeletons were being allegedly sold to medical students by unscrupulous elements.