Mira Bhayander: Six booked for partying inside autopsy room of civic hospital

Representative image. Pic/ istock

In a macabre incident, a group of persons was caught in a sting operation while having a birthday party on the autopsy table inside the morgue of a civic-run hospital in Bhayander, the police said.

The celebrations took place in the post-mortem room, adjacent to the morgue with several bodies kept there, on the eve of Holi, around 1.30 am on Friday, said senior police inspector MB Patil of Bhayander Police Station.

"Based on a complaint filed by a journalist, we have registered a first information report and are conducting further investigations. No arrests have been made so far," Patil told IANS.

According to journalist Anil Nautiyal, in the wee hours of March 18, he got a tip-off about a party inside the autopsy room of the Bharat Ratna Pandit Bhimsen Joshi (Tembha) Hospital here, run by the Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation (MBMC).

"I reached there and witnessed the spirited party celebrations with around 8-9 people present. When I asked what was going on, one person, identified as Sushant, claimed it was his birthday," Nautiyal said.

As the journalist started filming and taking photos, some of the revellers got enraged and assaulted him, but he somehow managed to escape.

When Nautiyal reached his vehicle parked outside, one of the accused snatched the car keys and continued to chase him.

"I left my car there and ran home safely. Later, I called up the police. They promised to probe and also asked me to come and lodge a complaint," said the journalist.

By the time the police reached the morgue, the revellers had escaped.

Nautiyal claimed that Tembha Hospital was on his radar for several months after he received information of some alleged unsavoury activities purportedly going on there, including clicking selfies with nude bodies or tampering with them.

Among the revellers at the party were some civic staffers, ambulance drivers or helpers, but it was not clear whether they were authorised to enter the morgue premises.

Patil said that at least six accused have been booked under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the stringent Maharashtra Mediapersons & Media Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage or Loss to Property) Act.

He said that all the accused are "still around" and none have absconded but several arrests could follow after the initial investigations are completed.

Nautiyal now plans to meet the MBMC administrator and other top civic officials seeking a full-fledged probe into a series of sinister activities that are allegedly ongoing in the morgue and nab the culprits.

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