JJ, KEM hospitals to get state’s first non-invasive post-mortem machines

Mumbai: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday announced that the Maharashtra government will introduce non-invasive post-mortem machines, with the first two to be installed at the Sir JJ Group of Hospitals and KEM Hospital in Mumbai

Mumbai: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday announced that the Maharashtra government will introduce non-invasive post-mortem machines, with the first two to be installed at the Sir JJ Group of Hospitals and KEM Hospital in Mumbai. However, he clarified that conventional autopsies would continue in complicated cases like murders.

KEM Hospital in Parel will get non-invasive port-mortem machines. (HT Archive)

The issue was raised in the legislative council by BJP MLC Chitra Wagh, who said there was a huge paucity of staff at post-mortem centres, which was affecting investigations.

Wagh said several post-mortem centres at state, district and sub-district hospitals were functioning without technical staff. In Beed, the State Human Rights Commission had initiated action, while in Palghar, there were no attendants or support staff available during the night, she said. She also alleged that some support staff in Beed were working in an inebriated condition. Wagh demanded a special recruitment drive to fill permanent vacancies within 90 days, saying that relatives of the deceased are undergoing trauma due to this.

Responding to the discussion, Fadnavis acknowledged the shortage of personnel at post-mortem centres and assured the House that the government would address the issue. He said that post-mortems were earlier not conducted after sunset, but the rules have since been relaxed.

The chief minister, who also has the home portfolio, said the state is in the process of buying non-invasive post-mortem machines, which would operate under expert human supervision. He compared the technology to PET-CT scans that detect cancer cells.

During the discussion, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Ambadas Danve pointed out that forensic experts often issue only provisional post-mortem reports while preserving viscera for laboratory analysis, delaying final reports.

Fadnavis said the government had launched a special drive to reduce the backlog of pending forensic reports, bringing it down from 300,000 cases to about 75,000.

The chief minister informed the House that Maharashtra has 533 post-mortem centres and that 10,995 post-mortems had been conducted till May this year. He admitted that the facilities were operating under a heavy load.

Shiv Sena MLC Neelam Gorhe also demanded additional Floor Space Index (FSI) to expand post-mortem centres and create more capacity for storing bodies wherever required.