AIIMS rejected the Rajasthan government's request to conduct post-mortem on 14 bodies of Gujjars lying unclaimed at the Sawai Man Singh Hospital.
NEW DELHI: The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on Saturday rejected the Rajasthan government's request to conduct post-mortem on 14 bodies of Gujjars lying unclaimed at the Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital in Jaipur.
The agitating Gujjars had demanded that independent doctors from outside the state should conduct the post-mortem of the bodies of their protesters who were killed in police firing last week.
"We received a request from the Rajasthan government for conducting post-mortem but we have expressed our inability to do so," said Shailendra Yadav, deputy director administration of AIIMS.
"We have refused the request on the grounds of jurisdiction. We work only in the notified area of south Delhi and for any other work of such nature, a court order needs to be forwarded to us," Yadav said.
Earlier in the day, a top Jaipur police official said a team of AIIMS doctors was scheduled to arrive at the SMS hospital for autopsy. However, the SMS hospital administration rubbished the police claim.
"I have no knowledge of an AIIMS team coming here. We have not received any circular regarding Delhi doctors conducting post-mortem," S.S. Ranawat, deputy medical superintendent of the SMS hospital, said from Jaipur.
However, he added: "We have kept the bodies in deep freezer and they have not started decaying."
At least 39 people have lost their lives in clashes between Gujjars and police in Rajasthan. Gujjars, an ethnic tribe, have been demanding Scheduled Tribe status for more job and education reservations.
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