Kannur man's body exhumed after four months as cops probe Bengaluru hospital negligence

Kannur: Four months after a 45-year-old Dunzo delivery worker was buried in Chembilode in Kannur, his body was exhumed on Tuesday after the Taliparamba Sub-Divisional Magistrate ordered an autopsy to determine whether he died solely from a rare 'flesh-eating' bacterial infection or whether medical negligence at Bengaluru's Victoria Hospital contributed to his death.

For Sharly D (35), the Tamil-speaking widow of Shanavas C V, the order marks a small victory in her fight against Victoria Hospital, Bengaluru's largest government hospital, and the city police.

Shanavas's body was exhumed from the Iriveri Juma Masjid graveyard in Chembilode in the presence of Kannur Tahsildar N K Manoj Kumar and Chakkarakkal Police. A three-member forensic team led by Dr Priyatha T of Pariyaram Medical College Hospital, conducted the autopsy, which was fully videographed.

"The autopsy team recovered mummified tissue from the genital region. They also found soft tissue there which will help us determine whether infection was still present at the time of death," said Dr Prajith T M, Forensic and Police Surgeon at Kannur Government Medical College.

After examining medical records, Dr Prajith said Victoria Hospital had correctly diagnosed Fournier's gangrene, a rare condition requiring emergency removal of infected tissue. However, he questioned the manner in which the surgery was carried out.

"The treatment initiated was appropriate. But based on the history available to us, the surgery was performed in the ward instead of an operating theatre, under the light of a mobile phone flashlight, and the patient was made to lie on the floor. Those are not aseptic conditions," he said, adding that Shanavas was discharged before proper healing. "All that points towards medical negligence."

The autopsy recording will be handed over by Chakkarakkal police to Bengaluru City's Vishveshwarapuram police, which is investigating the death.

Shanavas died at his rented home in Bommanahalli on March 15. The next day, Sharly travelled with their four children, including a two-and-a-half-month-old infant, and an ambulance carrying his body to Kannur, where he was buried according to Islamic rites.

Hospital records show Shanavas was admitted on February 19 after developing severe pain, swelling and a wound in the genital region. Doctors diagnosed Fournier's gangrene.

Sharly alleges that four postgraduate resident doctors performed the emergency surgery in the ward rather than in an operating theatre. She claimed the procedures were carried out under the light of a mobile phone held by her father and without nurses assisting. She has videos of the procedures.

The couple met while Sharly was studying nursing in Bengaluru and built a life there after marrying. Shanavas later worked as a Dunzo delivery executive, earning around ₹30,000 a month, while the family of six lived in a rented house in Hongasandra.

Doctors say emergency surgical debridement and antibiotics were standard treatment for Fournier's gangrene because the infection can spread rapidly if surgery is delayed. Hospital records show Sharly was informed about the diagnosis and its risks before she consented to surgery.

Shanavas remained in hospital for 12 days before being discharged on March 3. He died 12 days later. Sharly alleges he was discharged prematurely to cover up lapses in treatment. "He bled to death at home. I kept changing bedsheet after bedsheet to soak up the blood," she said.

She further alleged that Victoria Hospital demanded ₹20,000 for an autopsy after his death, forcing her to bring the body to Kannur for burial. When she later approached the Vishveshwarapuram police alleging medical negligence, she said officers refused to proceed without a postmortem report.

Only after the case received media attention did the police seek permission to exhume the body. The Taliparamba Sub-Divisional Magistrate approved the request and directed that the exhumation and autopsy be conducted on July 7, with the investigating police bearing the cost.

While hospital records show doctors explained Shanavas's diagnosis and its risks, Sharly says her questions remain focused on how the surgery was conducted and why he was discharged before his wound healed.