Dera donated 14 bodies to private medical college without permission!

Lucknow: In yet another revelation following the arrest of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim, the Central Government has told the UP Government that 14 bodies sent from the Dera headquarters in Sirsa (Haryana) to GCRG Institute of Medical Sciences, a private medical college here, were without requisite permission and death certificates.

According to the police sources here, the letter was written on August 19 and sent to the UP Government while the officials in the State Government said here today that the "explanation offered by the college in obtaining 14 cadavers from Dera Sacha Sauda without requisite permission and death certificates is a serious issue".

The GCRG authorities claimed that a team of Medical Council of India (MCI) had inspected the college on August 16 and had found the 14 cadavers in the anatomy department. During MCI's last inspection on January 6, there was only one cadaver in the institute, which led to an adverse report by the council as rules mandated there should have been at least 15. It is this finding that finds mention in the committee's report. The committee was set up following an Allahabad HC order on a dispute over providing recognition to GCRG. The report was quoted in the note to the UP Government. The State Government has now debarred the college from admitting students for two years. The report, however, does not mention the cause that may have led to the death of these 14. "Bodies were donated to us by followers of Baba Ram Rahim, who had been urging them to indulge in this noble activity.

Dera followers have been donating bodies of their kin to many colleges. We have affidavits of all the 14 families who agreed to donate the bodies for research. We have asked Lucknow police to verify these documents," the medical college authorities said. SSP Lucknow Deepak Kumar here said that police would consult the Medical Education Department of the state and find out the procedure that private medical institutes need to follow to obtain identified and unidentified bodies. However, officials said a private or Government medical college, having death certificates issued by a doctor or a hospital is mandatory along with consent letter of family. For unclaimed bodies, conducting post-mortem examination was a must and a college can obtain such bodies only after police clearance.(UNI)