Rajasthan pays compensation after rats nibble at body, patient

The Rajasthan government has paid Rs.1 lakh as compensation to the next of kin of a dead woman whose body was bitten by rats due to the carelessness of the staff at a state-run hospital, officials said Wednesday.

According to a National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) report, the body of Janta Devi, who died Jan 11, 2012 in Beawar-based Amrit Kaur Hospital, was not kept in the deep freezer but was left on the autopsy table itself.

Parts of her right ear and left eye were bitten by rats, the report said.

Following a notice issued by the NHRC, the state government paid Rs.1 lakh to her next of kin.

In another case, rats bit the face of 70-year-old Iqbal Mohammad Jan 10, 2012 in the intensive care unit of Jodhpur-based Mathura Das Mathur Government Hospital, which caused excessive bleeding.

Rs.50,000 was given as compensation to the next of kin of Mohammad following a NHRC directive.

D. Murugesan, a NHRC member, observed that in the first case, there was a serious violation of human dignity while in the second case, the lack of adequate care in the hospital resulted in violation of human rights for which the state was liable.