Cadavers on sale at Osmania mortuary

If one thinks that unclaimed dead bodies coming to the Osmania General Hospital mortuary are creamted, then think again. In fact, some unauthorised people are allegedly selling dead bodies.When this reporter visited the mortuary, he found Ravi Naik and Govind, clad-in khaki and impersonating as hospital staff selling unknown and unclaimed bodies at different prices. “Most people coming from private medical colleges ask for fresh and young bodies. We can provide whichever body they want,” Ravi Naik said. The duo even said that presently 70 bodies are available in the mortuary. “We will check and tell you whether fresh dead bodies are available or not,” they said.According to Naik, the bodies of young people are more in demand. They are usually sold for at least Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000 each. Again, there are even different rate slabs for dead bodies. They charge Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 for a dead body between 15-20 years of age, Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 for bodies of those who died in accidents and Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000 for bodies of those who died of natural causes. The duo are willing to permit the customer into the mortuary to check the condition of bodies before purchase. When asked how they could carry on such an illegal business, they replied: “It is an open secret, sir. All officials are aware of it. They do not look into the issue as they are too busy with their regular work.”  For instance, the body of a 35-year-old female who died of natural causes was sent to the mortuary by Falaknuma Police on June 27, 2010 and the autopsy conducted on June 28. However, the body was allegedly sold out to a private medical college even as records showed the body was handed over to Siasat for the final rites. In another case, a 25-year unidentified male body from Saroornagar police station was shifted to the mortuary on March 18, 2010.  However, a few hours later the body had vanished from the place. Reportedly, around 15 dead bodies come to the Osmania mortuary every day. Of them, at least two to five are unknown or unidentified. Since there is no check on how many dead bodies remain unclaimed, the illegal business of selling dead bodies is thriving. When Express approached R Surya Murthy, who is in-charge of the Osmania mortuary, he said he had no idea of missing bodies. Dr Narayana Reddy, head of department, forensic, Osmania Hospital said they keep a list of dead bodies coming to the mortuary. “As per my knowledge, there is no illegal activity like selling dead bodies taking place. We are taking care to preserve and protect dead bodies and will take stern action if anybody is found guilty,” he added. Dr Vasantha Prasad, superintendent, OGH said he was unaware about the business of selling dead bodies since the mortuary did not come under Osmania Hospital administration.K Rajeswar Rao, founder of Satya Harischandra Foundation which works to keep track of unclaimed bodies said, that around 500 unclaimed or unidentified dead bodies were sold from the Osmania mortuary in the past two years.  

By Mouli Mareedu
moulimareedu@gmail.com