Eyes ‘removed’ during autopsy: 2 doctors get forensic experts’ clean chit
On December 13, Dr Mohammad Arif and Dr Mohammad Owais were arrested and sent to judicial custody based on a complaint lodged by the deceased woman’s family that the doctors had “removed” her eyes during the postmortem.
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The body of the woman, identified as Pooja (20), was found hanging in her in-laws’ house in Baduaun’s Rasula village on December 10. Her family alleged that she was killed by her in-laws for dowry. (Representational Image)Two doctors accused of “removing” the eyes from the body of a woman during her post-mortem examination in Badaun district have been handed down a clean chit by a team of forensic experts, who said that “the membrane of the eyes could have shrunk due to trauma caused during the autopsy”.
An investigation conducted by forensic experts of the state Medico Legal Cell ruled out any foul play by both doctors accused in the case. The forensic report concludes that the “eyes could have shrunk due to injuries caused during the post-mortem examination,” said officials.
On December 13, Dr Mohammad Arif and Dr Mohammad Owais were arrested and sent to judicial custody based on a complaint lodged by the deceased woman’s family that the doctors had “removed” her eyes during the postmortem.
On December 12, the woman’s body was cremated after a second postmortem and an FIR was registered against the doctors.
Both doctors — released on bail on Friday — were booked at the Civil Lines police station in Badauna under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act.
Speaking to The Sunday Express on Thursday, Dr Deepa Tyagi, Director General of the UP Medical Health Department, said a team of two forensic experts investigated the matter and found the two doctors had not indulged in any foul play during the postmortem.
“As per the findings by the expert forensic team, the membrane of the eyes may have ruptured by the time the second postmortem was done. The cause for this could be that when the body was dissected for the first post-mortem examination, the body would have sustained injuries. The doctors also checked the brain using sharp equipment, which could have damaged the eyes’ membrane, causing the eyes’ tissues to shrink and stick to the bone. In this case, forensic specialists have opined that this could have happened in the first postmortem. The photographs also show that no surgical incision was done on the eyes, which rules out the allegation that the eyes were taken out for illegal sale.”
“The relatives had alleged that after the first postmortem, the eyes were found to be gorged out. In the second post-mortem report, the doctors said they didn’t find eyes in the body. The doctors who conducted the first postmortem said during the first examination, the eyes were normal, so they didn’t write anything about them in their report,” she added.
Dr Tyagi said that “the charge under the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act against the two doctors has been dropped but the legal course will follow”.
Contacted by The Sunday Express on Saturday, Badaun Superintendent of Police Om Prakash Singh said, “We have dropped the charge under the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act. However, other sections concerning medical negligence are intact. Further action will follow as per rules…. The eyes were not fully gorged out but were damaged. If the Health Department has found that the doctors did not cause any damage to the eyes, they can give it to us in writing.”
The body of the woman, identified as Pooja (20), was found hanging in her in-laws’ house in Baduaun’s Rasula village on December 10. Her family alleged that she was killed by her in-laws for dowry.
On December 15, Badaun Chief Medical Officer Pradeep Varshney was suspended by the state government for “negligence” in carrying out his duties in connection with the incident.
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