NELLORE: A government doctor was placed under suspension on Wednesday for allegedly demanding Rs 16,000 from the kin of a suicide victim for conducting a postmortem. A video of Dr Samdhani, medical officer at the hospital in Udayagiri, demanding the bribe for postmortem went viral on social media.
Vaidya Vidhana Parishad Commissioner Dr V Vinod Kumar suspended Dr Samdhani based on a preliminary probe report submitted by the District Collector. A departmental inquiry has been launched against the doctor. Nellore police extended a financial aid of Rs 40,000 to the victim’s family for the final rites and arranged an ambulance for shifting the body to his native place.
Mudiraj and his wife Muneeswari belong to Rayakunta village in West Godavari and they migrated to Udayagiri area to eke out a living as farmhands. Mudiraj died by suicide in the late hours of Tuesday. His family said he took the extreme step due to debt burden.
Dr Samdhani demanded Rs 16,000 from Muneeswari to conduct the postmortem. Agriculture Minister Kakani Govardhan Reddy expressed shock over the incident. TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh deplored the indifference of the YSRC government to inhuman incidents.