Plastic bag vests, pile-up of bodies: View at old morgue in Delhi

In May, a massive storm hit the Capital, and the display board at the entrance of the Sabzi Mandi mortuary—Delhi’s oldest—broke off and fell onto the main road. Seven months on, the board is yet to be reinstalled, and there are no other markers; people visiting the mortuary for the first time often get lost, unable to find the facility.

However, for the staff working at the mortuary, this is the least of their problems given that the facility is currently functioning without essentials, such as plastic aprons, body bags, sealing wax, viscera jars, and boxes, among other items.

Now, these staffers either shell out personal money for these essentials, use makeshift substitutes, or are dependent on the largesse of others, usually police officers, to carry out their mandate of conducting autopsies.

A long history of neglect

Set up in 1960, the Sabzi Mandi mortuary is attached to the Aruna Asaf Ali Hospital—a Delhi government hospital—conducts 15-20 post-mortem examinations a day, and has a capacity to store 30 bodies at a time.

The morgue has been at the centre of several high-profile cases—the autopsy of at least 400 people killed in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots were carried out at this facility, as was the post-mortem examination of Naina Sahni in the notorious 1995 “tandoor murder”.

However, a lack of political will and bureaucratic oversight has led to the facility operating without even needles to sew bodies back after a post-mortem examination is conducted.

Officials at the mortuary said they are completely dependent on the Aruna Asaf Ali Hospital for their supplies, and have written to them multiple times over the past two years, but to no avail.

HT has seen copies of at least two letters written by mortuary in-charge Dr Akash Jhanjee to the hospital’s medical superintendent Dr Suneeta Meena—dated February 2, 2023 and December 11, 2023—requesting for basic supplies to carry out post-mortem examinations.

According to documents maintained by the mortuary, it was last supplied with plastic aprons in January this year. The morgue ran out of viscera jars and wooden boxes in November 2023, it has been operating without sealing wax since August 2023, and staffers have not received needles since the beginning of 2023 — nearly two years now.

HT has seen all these documents.

Jhanjee confirmed the development, but did not offer further detail.

HT reached out to Meena several times though calls and messages, but she did not comment on the matter.

Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj did not comment on the matter.

The present state of the mortuary is influenced by the developments over the past decade.

In 2014, a rat bit off the eye of a body preserved at a mortuary, following which the family approached the Delhi high court, which, in 2015, constituted a committee to inspect all morgues in Delhi.

The findings were shocking. The Sabzi Mandi facility was found operating without racks to store bodies, dealing with staff shortage, and recording shortage of materials to keep the place hygienic—the report called its condition “abysmal”.

“After the report, the situation somewhat improved, and by 2016, the supply of essentials was in order. However, when the (Covid-19) pandemic hit in 2020, the situation became untenable, and it is yet to go back to normal,” said Jhanjee.

A senior doctor at the facility said that during a 2019 meeting held by the court-appointed committee, under the chairmanship of then chief secretary of Delhi, it was proposed that the Sabzi Mandi mortuary be attached to Lok Nayak Hospital, instead of the Aruna Asaf Ali Hospital.

The minutes of the meeting stated, “The procurement and purchase of consumables, general store items and equipment will be done by Lok Nayak Hospital... Medical Director, Lok Nayak Hospital will be the Administrative Head of Sabzi Mandi Mortuary.”

However, the matter has not moved forward since, and Jhanjee confirmed that the matter is still pending in court.

How staffers manage

Officials posted at the mortuary said that since Aruna Asaf Ali Hospital stopped supplying them with plastic aprons, they are forced to use garbage bags. “Doctors conducting post-mortem examinations are forced to wear green or blue plastic garbage bags to protect themselves, but it is still very hazardous,” a senior official said, on condition of anonymity.

A second doctor, who said he conducts at least 10 post-mortem examinations per day, said he often asks nearby hospitals and nursing homes for “help” with medical supplies, such as needles and threads, for sewing up bodies.

“In addition, we ask police to arrange viscera jars and boxes, even though they are not mandated to do so, and they use their own money to buy these items. Police, sometimes, ask the family of the deceased whose autopsy is being conducted to arrange for these items. However, the costs of a post-mortem examination are supposed to be borne by the government,” the doctor said.

A 41-year-old attendant at the mortuary said the lack of protective equipment means he is scared of contracting communicable illness, and is forced to limit his interaction with his family.

“I can get infected because I am not fully covered during post-mortem examinations. When I go home, I first take bath, and make sure that no one touches my clothes. These were the same precautions we used to take during the pandemic — for us, its like it never ended,” the attendant said.