Man finds his missing father’s dead body in medical college

Shocked to find his missing father’s dead body being used for studies in a private medical college in Bangalore, a man has threatened to move the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) against the involvement of police in racket of dead bodies.

In a press statement, Venkatesh, a resident of Bangalore, said his missing father Kaverappa’s dead body had been sold to St John’s Medical College in Bangalore by Madivala police in the City without proper identification and clarification. “My father’s dead body had been illegally sold to a medical college without completing all the necessary formalities”, Venkatesh said.

A couple of days after his father went missing, Venkatesh said he was tipped off by a staffer of St John’s Medical College that his father’s dead body was lying in the college to be used for medical studies by students. Immediately, Venkatesh rushed to the college to take possession of the body.

He was stunned to find a total of thirty wounds on his dead father’s body. When Venkatesh identified himself as the son of the dead man and staked claim over the body, the college authorities forced him to pay the embalming fee before taking possession of the body.

“I was even harassed by the college authorities, who forced me to pay Rs 5,000 to take back the dead body of my own father”, Venkatesh said in the press statement.

Though Venkatesh claimed that he had brought the matter to the notice of Bangalore City Police Commissioner N Achuta Rao, there has been no response in the matter.

Meanwhile, Director of St John’s National Academy of Health Sciences Dr Thomas said the college authorities were ready to return the Rs 5,000 collected from Venkatesh for embalming the body. “We had mistakenly procured the dead body of Venkatesh’s father as an unclaimed body from the police”, he admitted in a press statement.

He said the college had been receiving unclaimed bodies for medical studies over the years. “When the college staff did not notice any marks of injury on this dead body, it was assumed that the person had died of natural causes. Moreover as the Madivala police had given the body, there was no doubt in the minds of the staff about any legal formalities remaining incomplete” Dr Thomas said.

Venkatesh, who has declined to accept the amount, said the policemen should be punished for disposing off his father’s dead body without completing the formalities. “Had the college staffer not tipped me, I would never have known the fate of my father, who went missing”, Venkatesh said. “I saw three other bodies kept in the college for medical studies. I suspect the police to be involved in a racket in illegal sale of dead bodies”, Venkatesh said threatening to approach the NHRC in the matter.