Pilferage of viscera samples from Jharsuguda DHH: BJP seeks reply from Odisha govt

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday attacked the Odisha government for not intervening in the stealing of viscera samples from the Post Mortem room of Jharsuguda District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) last month.

State BJP Secretary Tankadhara Tripathy raised the issue at a press meet and sought clarification from the Health Department and the police as to why action was not taken on the pilferage of viscera samples from the hospital premises even though a written complaint was filed in this regard. 

Police have kept mum after registering a station diary in this regard, he alleged.

According to sources, miscreants broke open Post Mortem room and decamped with viscera samples on December 8. A complaint in this regard was filed by the office of the Chief District Medical Officer.

Tripathy said, "The death of Lalit Kumar Sahu, who worked as a cook in the Jharsuguda residence of Odisha Health Minister Naba Das, is a case in point. Following the recovery of Sahu’s body from Das’ residence at Jharsuguda, the police conducted the autopsy in the dead of the night and handed over the body to his family at Dengaborai under Dhenkanal’s Hindol." 

He continued: "It is still doubtful whether Sahu’s viscera report was submitted in court. His death is still shrouded in mystery. Besides, the state government must investigate to ascertain how many viscera reports are there in the post mortem room. The police administration and the health department should be answerable to Jharsuguda residents."

Meanwhile, CDMO Dolamani Patel, said, “The Additional District Medical Officer on December 8 filed a complaint in which it was mentioned that viscera samples were stolen from the post mortem room.”