Autopsy backlog mounts at Dakshin Dinajpur Dist Hosp

BALURGHAT: Post-mortem examinations at Dakshin Dinajpur District Hospital have been stalled for weeks following the prolonged absence of its sole forensic expert, leaving nearly a hundred autopsy reports pending and causing severe hardship to hospital staff and bereaved families.

Hospital sources said forensic expert Ankita Chunakar stopped attending duties despite repeated instructions from the administration. Earlier, she had faced protests from relatives of deceased persons over her irregular presence at the morgue. On September 26, she submitted a resignation letter to the hospital superintendent but stopped attending work even before it was approved. The hospital later issued her a show-cause notice but she neither replied nor resumed duty.

The Chief Medical Officer of Health Sudip Das said: “We are aware of the situation and have already discussed the issue. Necessary measures will be taken very soon.” He added that Ankita Chunakar had earlier expressed over phone her willingness to continue working and that efforts were on to resolve the matter quickly.

In her absence, the forensic department is being temporarily run with help from doctors of the general medicine section. The morgue at Dakshin Dinajpur District Hospital usually conducts two to three post-mortem examinations daily for cases from across the district.

Relatives of the deceased have been visiting the hospital repeatedly to collect pending reports, while hospital officials fear mounting legal and administrative complications due to the backlog.

Authorities have also acknowledged a severe manpower shortage at the hospital, where only 50 to 55 doctors are currently serving against a sanctioned strength of over a hundred. The absence of the sole forensic specialist has further aggravated the problem.

The CMOH assured that the administration is taking urgent steps to restore normalcy and ensure that post-mortem examinations resume at the earliest.