Dead woman’s eye gouged out in Odisha hospital

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Cuttack, Jan 11:

In a bizzare case, an eye of a dead woman has been allegedly gouged out from SCB Medical College and Hospital in Odisha’s Cuttack city, a charge denied by the hospital authorities.

The deceased–Sumitra Rout—hailing from Sakuntalapur village in Badachana block in Jajpur district had consumed poison at her in-laws house. She was initially admitted to Mahanga community health centre. Later, she was admitted to a private nursing home in Cuttack after her condition deteriorated. As there was no improvement in her health condition, she was shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital on Saturday.

She passed away while undergoing treatment in the casualty department on Saturday.

There was no injury mark on her body at her time of death. Her body was kept in the morgue and an eye has been taken out, Sumitra’s father Tarinisen Rout alleged.

On Sunday, when her body was taken out of the mortuary for post-mortem, he found her left eye missing and blood oozing out from her ears.

Following this, the father of the deceased filed a complaint with the Mangalabag police station regarding the missing organ of his daughter.

Meanwhile, the authorities of the premier government-run referral hospital have denied such allegations.

SCB Emergency Officer Dr Bhubanananda Maharana has refuted the allegations, pointing out that theft is not a possibility since the mortuary is provided with round the clock police security.

There is a possibility of mice or any other animal gnawing away the eye of the patient. The post-mortem report will make the reason for the missing eye clear, he added.

Sumitra had been married eight years ago to Sanatan Jatta from Tribeniswar Bera village in Mahanga block.