Dehradun: No burial permission, abandoned stillborn twins lying in hospital for over a month

Dehradun: The bodies of a pair of infants — stillborn twins — have been lying in the Mahant Indresh Hospital in the city for over a month in the absence of burial permission from the district administration.

The twins were born to a migrant labourer couple from Bihar on October 22 and were declared stillborn at the time of birth. According to the hospital staff, the couple left soon after the delivery saying that they will come back with their families to claim the bodies, but never returned.

The hospital’s officials said that they have written twice to the district magistrate, seeking permission to bury the stillborns, but have not received a reply.

“We first wrote to the district magistrate on October 24 and then again sent a reminder on November 15 but we are yet to hear from them,” Vinay Rai, medical superintendent, Mahant Indresh Hospital, said.

When contacted, Dehradun district magistrate SA Murugesan said that he has not received any request from the hospital. “Till now, I have not received any communication of this sort. When such incidents take place, the hospital contacts the chief medical officer of the district who then sends a letter to the district magistrate. However, I will still look into the matter,” he said.

TOI also tried to contact the parents but all the three phone numbers that they had provided during the time of admission at the hospital were not reachable. Their address on GMS Road in the city which was mentioned in the hospital records also drew a blank as neighbours told TOI that the family had left the area last month.