NHRC seeks report after rats nibble dead body in Haryana hospital mortuary
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognizance of a shocking incident at Narwana Civil Hospital in Jind, Haryana, where rats reportedly nibbled a dead body kept inside the mortuary. What makes the situation more concerning is that this is not the first time such an incident has been reported from the same hospital, pointing to a deeper and persistent management failure.
Calling the report a serious violation of human dignity, the NHRC has issued a notice to the Haryana Chief Secretary and directed the state government to submit a detailed report within two weeks. The Commission said the incident reflects grave lapses in the upkeep of a facility entrusted with sensitive medico-legal responsibilities.
According to earlier media reports, the hospital freezer used for storing bodies had been malfunctioning. The hospital administration claims it had raised repeated complaints with the private company responsible for its maintenance, but no repairs were carried out. With the freezer left unrepaired, staff reportedly installed a mesh inside it as a temporary measure to block rodent entry, a makeshift arrangement that clearly failed to offer adequate protection.
Beyond the immediate incident, the recurring nature of such reports highlights systemic problems within the hospital’s management. A malfunctioning freezer indicates not only poor equipment maintenance but also weak monitoring of outsourced service providers. The lack of a rapid-response or penalty mechanism for neglected repairs suggests gaps in contract oversight. Furthermore, rats entering a mortuary points to inadequate pest-control measures and structural issues such as unsealed vents, cracks, or unsecured entry points within the facility.
Experts say that mortuaries are required to maintain strict hygiene and refrigeration standards, as even minor lapses can compromise medico-legal processes, identification of bodies, and public health norms. A facility without a functioning cold-storage system should ideally have a contingency plan, such as temporary transfer of bodies to another hospital, but no such arrangement appears to have been activated. This indicates a failure in emergency preparedness and administrative escalation.
The incident also raises questions about staff training and internal protocols. Repeated occurrences usually imply that employees may not be adequately trained to enforce hygiene standards, document equipment faults, or escalate issues beyond the contractor level. A lack of proper record-keeping and monitoring may have allowed the problem to persist without urgent intervention.
The NHRC has asked the Haryana government to provide a comprehensive account of the incident, including the condition of mortuary infrastructure, maintenance records, pest-control logs, accountability for the lapse, and the corrective steps being implemented. The Commission is expected to examine whether the hospital followed established protocols for dead-body management, and whether negligence on the part of officials or contractors led to the degradation of a body under state custody.
The incident has sparked widespread concern, with public-health experts stressing that such lapses undermine trust in government healthcare facilities. The NHRC’s demanded report is now expected to detail permanent solutions, from repairing or replacing the mortuary freezer to strengthening sanitation, pest control, contract monitoring, and staff training, to ensure that such a disturbing episode does not recur.