Dolakha, January 20

Utter negligence of health workers at Charikot Primary Health Centre, Dolakha, came to the fore when the body of a newborn was found with the body of a man taken from the health centre for cremation today.

According to locals, the body of the newborn was found when they stripped the body of Kaluman Thami for cremation. Thami had fallen from a cliff and died. After post-mortem at the primary health centre, Thami’s body was taken for cremation. But the body of a male newborn was found soaked in blood in a plastic bag when Thami’s body was being stripped of clothes for his last rites.

According to Ward Chair Bir Bahadur Thami, they were taken aback when they saw the newborn’s body inside the plastic bag when they were about to burn Thami’s body. “For a while, we were all shocked,” Bir Bahadur said. After they reported to the police, police personnel received the infant’s body and submitted it to the primary health centre in Charikot. “After that, we cremated Thami’s body,” said Bir Bahadur.

Thami’s body was found last Saturday. He had been missing for the past four days. The body was taken to the primary health centre on same day for post-mortem. After receiving the body wrapped in plastic bag after post-mortem, the body was directly taken to the ghat for cremation in a vehicle.

Charikot Primary Health Centre Chief Dr Kshamata Ghimire said that she had conducted post-mortem on Thami’s body herself. “After the body was sewn following the post-mortem, I had exited thinking that assistants would do the rest”,  Ghimire said. She clarified they had not sent the body of the infant deliberately with man’s body. “Mistakes happened from our side, but unknowingly”, Ghimire admitted.

A pregnant woman from Baityaswor Rural Municipality admitted to the primary health centre had delivered a dead baby last Friday. “We were about to dispose body of the infant. Thami family took the infant’s body as well”, said medical Director Dr Binod Dangal at the primary health centre.

A source at the primary health centre said that it had conducted post-mortem on the infant’s dead body to find out the possible cause of the child’s death before its birth after the family did not take it with them.