CAUGHT FERRYING CORPSE IN TRUCK
‘Hospice licence not renewed after abuse plaints’
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Chennai : Close to a week after a destitute home in Kancheepuram came under the scanner for ferrying a corpse along with vegetables in a truck dressed as an ambulance, the social welfare department said the facility was operating on an expired licence which the government did not renew following complaints of abuse.
An official in the department said the home, St Joseph’s Hospice in Palaswaram, had applied for renewal of its licence in September. “We kept it pending as we had received complaints of abuse and wanted to investigate before processing it,” said a senior official.
However, the investigations were not carried out until last week, when a motorist travelling along the Salavakkam-Edayamputhur road heard the screams of an elderly woman from inside the truck pleading to save her. The motorist alerted police. The woman was found travelling with another old man and a corpse among vegetables. The body has been identified as that of Vijaykumar, a 70-year-old man, who died at St Joseph’s Hospice in Tambaram and was being transported to its Palaswaram branch. A case of suspicious death was registered.
A team comprising officials from revenue, health and social welfare departments and police were formed to investigate allegations of abuse in the hospice. Investigating officers said a preliminary report had been submitted with the district collector who will take necessary action. To a query on allegations of the home being involved in organ trafficking, officials remained tight-lipped. Officials in the social welfare department said inmates in the home will be shifted to another registered home till the investigations are completed and its license renewed.
Activists and political parties have questioned the delay in the investigations despite complaints of abuse being brought to the social welfare department’s notice in September. In a statement, MDMK questioned police action against locals who gheraoed the van carrying the corpse and the elderly. “They foisted cases against locals and lathi-charged them instead of undertaking investigations inside the home,” the party said in a statement. It demanded the state government to constitute a committee with sitting judges to probe into the issue.
‘Hospice licence not renewed after abuse plaints’
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Chennai : Close to a week after a destitute home in Kancheepuram came under the scanner for ferrying a corpse along with vegetables in a truck dressed as an ambulance, the social welfare department said the facility was operating on an expired licence which the government did not renew following complaints of abuse.
An official in the department said the home, St Joseph’s Hospice in Palaswaram, had applied for renewal of its licence in September. “We kept it pending as we had received complaints of abuse and wanted to investigate before processing it,” said a senior official.
However, the investigations were not carried out until last week, when a motorist travelling along the Salavakkam-Edayamputhur road heard the screams of an elderly woman from inside the truck pleading to save her. The motorist alerted police. The woman was found travelling with another old man and a corpse among vegetables. The body has been identified as that of Vijaykumar, a 70-year-old man, who died at St Joseph’s Hospice in Tambaram and was being transported to its Palaswaram branch. A case of suspicious death was registered.
A team comprising officials from revenue, health and social welfare departments and police were formed to investigate allegations of abuse in the hospice. Investigating officers said a preliminary report had been submitted with the district collector who will take necessary action. To a query on allegations of the home being involved in organ trafficking, officials remained tight-lipped. Officials in the social welfare department said inmates in the home will be shifted to another registered home till the investigations are completed and its license renewed.
Activists and political parties have questioned the delay in the investigations despite complaints of abuse being brought to the social welfare department’s notice in September. In a statement, MDMK questioned police action against locals who gheraoed the van carrying the corpse and the elderly. “They foisted cases against locals and lathi-charged them instead of undertaking investigations inside the home,” the party said in a statement. It demanded the state government to constitute a committee with sitting judges to probe into the issue.
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