Rats nibbling dead in Haryana mortuary: NHRC seeks response

New Delhi: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognisance of a media report that a dead body was nibbled by rats in the mortuary of Narwana Civil Hospital in Jind and sought a report from the Haryana government within two weeks, IANS learned from an official.

While seeking a response, the NHRC indicated that, reportedly, this is not the first incident reported from the same hospital.

The Commission observed that the contents of the news report, if true, raise serious issues of violation of human rights, said an official statement.

Therefore, the NHRC issued a notice to the Chief Secretary, Government of Haryana, calling for a detailed report on the matter within two weeks, said a statement.

According to a media report from November 12, 2025, the hospital authorities have claimed that they have complained to the company about repairing the freezer of the mortuary, but the company has not taken any action.

However, a mesh has been installed in the freezer of the mortuary as a temporary measure to check the entry of rats.

In a separate case, the NHRC last week wrote to the Chief Secretaries of all states and Union Territories over a complaint highlighting potentially deadly design flaws in public transport buses, raising alarm over passenger safety and systemic negligence in vehicle approval.

The Commission's letter responds to a complaint linked to the fatal sleeper bus fire of October 14, 2025, on the Jaisalmer–Jodhpur highway in Rajasthan.

A subsequent inspection by the Central Institute of Road Transport (CIRT) found violations of mandatory AIS-052 and AIS-119 safety standards, including the absence of fire suppression systems and improperly designed internal partitions.