Private Hospital In Cuttack Accused Of “Organ Theft”, Probe Begins

Phulbani/Cuttack, Oct 18: Odisha Health Minister Mukesh Mahaling ordered a departmental probe into an alleged organ theft incident at a private hospital in Cuttack, officials said on Friday.

Police today exhumed the body of a man in Kandhamal district after his family members accused the Rudra Hospital in Cuttack of ‘organ theft’ and lodged a complaint at Baliguda Police Station.

The deceased has been identified as Babula Diggal, a resident of Tikarbaju village under Baliguda police limits in Kandhamal district.

As per reports, Babula met with a road accident while he along with his son and wife was riding a bike on October 13. The victim was initially taken to Baliguda Hospital. Later, he was referred to MKCG Hospital in Berhampur and then to AIIMS, Bhubaneswar.

The victim was reportedly denied admission to the AIIMS, Bhubaneswar due to some strike. Later, he was taken to the private-run hospital in Cuttack, with the help of a broker, on October 15. However, he succumbed to his injuries on October 16.

The hospital authorities asked the family to take Babula’s body without conducting a postmortem of the body. However, the family members were shocked after finding some stitch marks on his stomach.

“My father had suffered injuries on his head. The doctors in the private hospital asked us to pay Rs 1 lakh for surgery. Accordingly, we deposited Rs 1 lakh for the surgery. The doctors conducted surgery on October 15 and told us that the operation was successful. But my father died at the hospital very next day,” the deceased’s son Iscak said.

“We requested the doctors for an autopsy test on the deceased's body, but in vain. After we were handed over the body, we found stitch marks on his stomach, whereas my father had suffered injuries on his head in the road accident," he alleged.

The aggrieved family alleged that the doctors in the private hospital removed some vital organs from the deceased’s body.

Meanwhile, a team of Commissionerate Police visited the Rudra Hospital in Cuttack for an investigation into the alleged organ theft following the complaint at Baliguda police station in Kandhamal district.