'Brain-dead' man found alive on autopsy table in Madhya Pradesh hospital

In a real life incident that would otherwise happen only in reel life, a 24-year-old "brain-dead" man taken for autopsy in a government hospital in Madhya Pradesh today was found to be alive, a medical officer said.

Himanshu Bharadwaj suffered head injuries after his motorcycle skidded off the road in Chhindwara city yesterday, following which he was referred to Nagpur in neighbouring Maharashtra for treatment, said Dr Sushil Dubey, Senior Medical Officer, Chhindwara district hospital.

He said the doctors at the Nagpur hospital declared Bharadwaj brain dead and sent him back to Chhindwara.

"Bharadwaj's family members then brought him back to the Chhindwara district hospital where doctors later declared him dead as his pulse was missing and he was showing no signs of life," said Dr Dubey.

Bharadwaj was shifted to the mortuary of the hospital for postmortem this afternoon.

"However, when the mortuary sweeper was preparing the 'body' for postmortem, he suddenly noticed movement in Bharadwaj's body. He immediately informed doctors who rushed to the mortuary and shifted Bharadwaj. He responded positively to the medical treatment," said Dr Dubey.

Bharadwaj regained consciousness and his all vitals are found to be stable, he said, adding that Bharadwaj was again referred to Nagpur for better treatment.

Alleging medical negligence, Bharadwaj's relative Santosh Rajput demanded a stern action against the doctors concerned.