Amputated leg as pillow: NHRC issues notice to Centre, UP government

WION Web Team
New Delhi, India Updated: Mar 12, 2018, 03:21 PM(IST)

The incident took place at a government medical college in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh. Photograph:( ANI )

Story highlights

A man, Ghanshyam, and his relatives alleged that the staff of the government-run Maharani Laxmibai Medical College and Hospital in Jhansi put the severed leg under his head as a pillow

The National Human Rights Commission has issued notices to the Uttar Pradesh government and the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare over reports of a patient's amputated leg being placed as a pillow at the Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College in Jhansi.

The man, identified as 28-year-old Ghanshyam, was seriously injured in a bus accident and was brought to the hospital in a critical condition. He said that the staff of the government-run Maharani Laxmibai Medical College and Hospital in Jhansi put the severed leg under his head as a pillow. 

Taking cognisance of the incident, state medical education minister Ashutosh Tandon, directed suspension of two doctors and two nurses with immediate effect on the ground of laxity in discharging their duty late night on Saturday.

Administrators at the hospital also vowed "strict action" after images emerged on local TV networks showing the patient on a stretcher with the amputated limb being used as a headrest.

"We have set up a four-member committee to find out who put the severed leg under the patient's head," Sadhna Kaushik, the principal of the medical college said on Sunday. 

"Strict action will be taken if our staff is found at fault," she added.

Ghanshyam's relatives said hospital staff ignored their requests that Ghanshyam be given a pillow and that when they reached hospital, they saw his leg being used as a headrest. They eventually brought him a pillow.

Last year, more than 70 children died in a single week at a government hospital in Gorakhpur that suffered oxygen shortages.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakhs for the patient. The chief minister also asked the Chief Medical Secretary to submit a report of the incident in one day.

Read in App