Eye of accident victim ‘gouged out’ at morgue, Mamata orders probe after victim’s family block her convoy in Barasat

When the family members went to collect the body, they alleged that one of his eyes was missing. The family members and area residents later held a protest on Jessore road near the hospital.

“The convoy got stuck on Jessore Road where relatives of a deceased person were staging a protest. They alleged that one of the eyes of the deceased had been removed at the morgue and sought the Chief Minister’s intervention,” an officer familiar with the matter said.

After the agitators blocked the chief minister’s convoy on Tuesday evening, she called the family members to discuss the issue.

“I have heard you and I have ordered an investigation immediately. We will take strong action if anyone is found guilty. The hospital will also probe the matter and set up an inquiry committee,” Banerjee was heard saying.

“We will give you proper compensation too. We will also give a job to the next of kin of the victim. I will give the job from my CM’s quota. We will give a group D job and after one year he or she will be permanent. Just give me two days, I will do the needful,” she told the family members.

She asked ADG South Bengal Supratim Sarkar, who was accompanying her with other senior police officers, to keep in touch with the family and do the needful, including collecting the resume of the next of kin for the job.

“When we went to see the body, we saw one of the eyes was missing. It was like someone had gouged it out, following which we protested and blocked the road,” one of the relatives of the victim, Sumita Kundu, told the mediapersons.

“How could the eye go missing? They (hospital authorities) are saying that rats might have done this. But we don’t believe them. That is why we were protesting. So that this never happens with someone else’s family,” said Alamgir Mondol, Ghosh’s neighbor.

Jhontu Ali, the victim’s friend said, “He had suffered a head injury in the accident. How can one of the eyes be missing? It looked like his eye had been gouged out.”

Reacting to the incident, Barasat Medical College and Hospital medical superintendent-cum-vice principal Abhijit Saha said, “The victim’s family members had come to us with the issue and we had told them to submit a written complaint after which we will form an inquiry committee. Now, the family members have had a talk with the Chief Minister and she has instructed us to form an inquiry committee as soon as possible.”