Bhandara case watered down, literally

In a major botch up in the medical probe of the three minor sisters from Bhandara, who were found dead under mysterious circumstances earlier this year, the doctors sent their organs for histopathological analysis allegedly in water instead of formalin. dna has copies of the histopathological reports of the sisters aged six, nine and 11, who died on February 14.

Doctors from the Bhandara General Hospital, who conducted the autopsy on the minors, packed their organs — cervix, ovaries and fallopian tubes — in water instead of formalin and sent it to the department of pathology at the Nagpur Government Medical College (GMC), said sources.

Forensic experts say it is mandatory for organs to be preserved and transported in ten per cent formalin solution to prevent decomposition. Formalin or formaldehyde is a pungent smelling organic chemical compound routinely used in histopathological analysis to retain the original structure of the organs.

“Even an MBBS student knows that organs for histopathology are to be preserved strictly in formalin. Formalin arrests autolysis, which is cell breakdown of the tissues. It also keeps the bacteria and fungi infestations at bay. Over two to three weeks, the organ hardens in formalin, but its anatomical structure is preserved, making it viable for microscopic and gross analysis,” said Dr Shailesh Mohite, head, forensic medicine at Nair Hospital.

After the autopsy, a team of five doctors put together by former civil surgeon Dr Rishi Chahande sent the organs, including the uterus, for histopathological analysis to GMC, Nagpur. No doctor from the team was professionally trained in forensic medicine. The histopathological reports further state that the organs of the Bhandara girls were emanating foul smell and could not be properly identified. Doctors said the Bhandara General Hospital has tampered with crucial evidence.

“We could not observe the organs under microscope as no tissues were seen. In one of the samples, a small, irregular grayish piece of tissue could not even be identified if it was uterus or cervix. The doctors in Bhandara should have had basic knowledge that organs decompose quickly in water and cannot be stored in it,” said a doctor from the Nagpur GMC. “Examining organs for infection or signs of tears or assault is part of the protocol. Our tests have gone in vain as evidence has been tampered with.”

The three sisters went missing from their school at Murmadi village in Bhandara’s Lakhni taluka, around 150km away from Nagpur. Doctors at Bhandara General Hospital, including Chahande and gynaecologist Dr CS Khobragade, who conducted the post-mortem, first said the girls had been raped. It was later revealed that faulty methods had been adopted to conduct autopsies, including the fact that the girls’ bodies were not kept in cold storage.
When dna contacted Chahande and Khobragade to comment on the case, they dodged the questions and then refused to talk about the issue.