Commentary: Unequipped morgues cannot provide accurate autopsy report to investigate death

Country’s all morgues and mortuary systems are highly neglected and subsequent forensic medicine, thus, fails to produce correct autopsy of corpses. Lack of proper medical equipment like portable x-ray machines and laboratory facilities compel forensic experts to cut bodies into pieces to explore the causes of death. Corruption in medical equipment purchase across the government medical college was high, but diagnosis has not improved at all. The sorry state of morgue management should come to end and modern mortuaries and forensic medicine should be introduced for better and accurate evidence-based justice system. Cutting into pieces of any corpse for autopsy is sheer disrespect to human beings.
Doctors said none of the morgues has the instruments like electric blades, trays, special knives and special boxes to keep evidence preserved. Due to the lack of proper equipment at the morgues, investigators often have to do with faulty autopsy reports.

Despite having evidence of murder, officials often find it difficult to reach a definite conclusion because of the faulty autopsy report. Forensic experts said doctors still conduct autopsies in the old way that can hardly give proper pictures. Besides, evidence often gets damaged as the bodies are not preserved properly.
There are three morgues in the capital. Besides, the general hospitals in the districts have one morgue each. Of the morgues, the one at Dhaka Medical College is still regarded the best in the country and it receives on average eight to 10 bodies daily for autopsy. Recently, doctors recovered around 25 pellets and a bullet from a dead body only after cutting it into several pieces. The DMC morgue has capacity to preserve eight bodies at a time. If several bodies suspected to be carrying bullets are sent to the morgue in a day, the doctors will have to keep two or more in one refrigerator as such an autopsy takes time. The authorities should focus on it, as a fault in the report may change the course of investigation.