After Backlash Over Rotten Bodies On Pakistan Hospital Roof, Authorities Pass The Buck On Cops

Nishtar Hospital official blamed police for the piling up of bodies in the morgue and on the roof after an outcry erupted over a viral video that showed bodies in depilated condition on the hospital rooftop.

New Delhi: Several putrefied bodies were found dumped on the rooftop of a public sector hospital in Pakistan's Punjab province, the incident shocked the nation and led to an outcry after the matter came to notice with a viral video on social media.

Adviser to the Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Zaman Gujjar on Thursday visited the Nishtar Hospital in Multan, located some 350 kms from Lahore, and found several "abandoned" bodies on the roof of the hospital's mortuary.

According to news agency PTI, Punjab Chief Minister Parvez Elahi on Friday took strict notice of the matter and formed a high-powered committee for probe. The six-member committee headed by specialised healthcare secretary Muzamil Bashir has been given three days to complete the probe and fix the responsibility.

Nishtar Medical University’s Prof Dr Maryam Asharf in a statement on Friday contended that it received “unclaimed, unidentified and unknown dead bodies” from the police department. “The process of decomoposition has begun in such bodies and they were put on the roof of the dead house for different medical purposes. These bodies are used for medical experiments by students and this is done in accordance with rules laid down of the government,” she said, as quoted by PTI.

“This is not unusual as bones and skulls are extracted for further medical use,” Ashraf said.

NMU's Official Blames Police For The Piling Up Of Bodies

In conversation with Geo News, Nishtar Medical University's (NMU) Head of Anatomy Department Dr Mariam Ashraf blamed the rescue officials and police for the piling up of bodies in the morgue and on the roof.

According to her, the medical facility could not refuse to accept the bodies as it was bound to take them in as safekeeping. "Police and rescue officials ask us to keep it in the hospital," she claimed.

"The police and rescue officials do not take them back on time. We have written documents in which we have asked them to take the bodies. Since there is a lag, such things happen," the official said, as quoted by Geo News.

The hospital official further claimed that the bodies given by police are usually decayed and cannot be kept in the mortuary.

"As a result of their condition, maggots start eating them — and they can travel from one body to another. This is why, the bodies that are decaying are kept on the roof, where there are three rooms,"  Dr Mariam Ashraf told Geo TV.

"The only reason for the bodies being kept on the roof is that their influx is huge and they aren't returning back to the police stations in the numbers that they should," she said in the hospital's defence.

Dr Mariam Ashraf dismissed claims that there were around 200 bodies on the rooftop saying that the hospital administration counted the exact number of bodies and shared the details with concerned authorities.

In the interview, she claimed that there were four bodies on the roof even as the video showed many more, as pointed out by interviewer Shahzeb Khanzada.

"Let me make it clear, only a few bodies were kept above. Putrified bodies are kept in the room," she emphasised.

According to her, the bodies given to the hospital by the police are kept in the morgue for a month and if no one claims the bodies, it sends them back to the police for burial.

"Usually, the abandoned bodies that we receive are already decayed to an increased extent. We follow all our SOPs, we do not refuse to take decayed bodies as well," the Head of Anatomy Department contended.

When asked to share the number of bodies on the rooftop, she refused to divulge the information saying, "I am not at liberty to disclose that number right now. I will let you know myself when possible."

Punjab Police Refutes Hospital's Allegations, Claims Negligence

Punjab Police Spokesperson DIG Muhammad Waqas Nazir refuted the hospital's allegations while admitting that the abandoned bodies were handed over by the police as per the law.

Punjab Police Spokesperson DIG Muhammad Waqas Nazir said that the hospital, in a letter to the secretary of specialised healthcare South Punjab, stated that bodies were stored on the rooftop for decomposing and after completion of the process, their bones were to be used for education purposes.

Due to the negligence of the hospital’s staff, the bodies were kept in the open air on the rooftop, the Punjab Police Spokesperson DIG Muhammad Waqas Nazir told Geo News.

Meanwhile, the Punjab Chief Minister has ordered cremation of the abandoned bodies and directed the health authorities to take action against the employees involved in the matter.

Videos circulating on social media showed several bodies dumped on the roof in a poor condition which sparked rumours that the bodies were kept on the roof to be used as fodder for eagles and vultures.

The Baloch separatists on social media claimed that these could be the bodies of their missing persons.

(With Agency Inputs)