On Reports of Skulls Near Muzaffarpur Hospital, Bihar Minister Blames Media for Twisting Fact

New Delhi: Accusing media of showing human skeletal remains behind Muzaffarpur hospital "differently", Bihar Minister Ashok Chaudhary on Sunday said the skull fragments could be of bodies that have no claimants.

"Sometimes bodies have no claimants so the government gives Rs 2,000 (to post-mortem department) to burn the bodies, which they don't do many times. Probe will reveal the truth behind this. The media projecting it differently," Chaudhary said.

The government-run Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) is considered to be north Bihar's biggest hospital, where a large number of postmortem exams are done for unclaimed bodies. As per procedure, if no one turns up to claim a body for 72 hours, it is the duty of the postmortem department to bury or burn the body as per the dead person's religion.

On Saturday, photographs showing deformed human bones and broken skull fragments lying behind SKMCH were telecast on various news channels. The pictures raised many eyebrows as it's the same hospital where several children died recently due to encephalitis.

One or two of the bodies were reportedly found charred and many skeletons were found strewn on the ground or stuffed into sacks in the forest area. "After postmortem, all the bodies are dumped in the forest behind the hospital. I never tried to ask the authorities about these skeletons," Janak Paswan, caretaker of the hospital, told news agency ANI. The abandoned skeletons were neither burnt nor buried.

SKMCH Superintendent Dr Sunil Kumar Shahi said he had ordered an internal inquiry after parts of deformed human bones and broken skull were found. The skeletal remains could have been disposed of by the postmortem department of the hospital, he said, admitting it should have been done with a more "humane approach. "The postmortem department is under the principal... I'll ask him to constitute an investigating committee," he said.

SKMCH principal Dr Vikas Kumar told News 18 that a three-member team has been formed to investigate the matter. "Let us wait for the report, then only we will be able to tell you the truth," he said.

Sona Prasad Singh, SHO Ahiyapur, Muzaffarpur, later said, “After an investigation, it has been found that unclaimed bodies were burnt here."

Muzaffarpur District Magistrate Alok Ranjan Ghosh said he had asked health department officials to investigate the recovery and submit a report to him. "A team has already visited the site of the recovery. It will submit a report soon," said Ghosh.