Body of five-year-old girl exhumed after negligence allegations against Ambattur hospital

On Monday, officials exhumed the body of a five-year-old girl for a postmortem examination, eight months after her burial, following grave allegations of medical negligence against a private hospital in Ambattur, Chennai.

The deceased child, Neslinria, was the daughter of Sheenu Alexander and Jisha, residents of Athipattu. According to the family, the young girl was admitted to the private hospital in the Ambattur locality on December 3 of last year after running a fever. She tragically passed away the very next day, on December 4.

In the wake of her death, Neslinria's mother initiated legal and regulatory action by lodging formal complaints. She filed complaints with both the Ambattur police station and the Tamil Nadu Medical Council, seeking an investigation into the circumstances surrounding her daughter's treatment.

The mother's complaints alleged severe negligence on the part of the hospital's medical staff. Specifically, she raised concerns that the treatment provided to the five-year-old was administered without consulting or taking an opinion from a pediatrician, which the family believes led to her death.

Following a formal recommendation by the Tamil Nadu Medical Council, authorities cleared the way for the exhumation of the child's body to facilitate a forensic investigation. On Monday, the exhumation was successfully carried out at a private Christian cemetery located at Iraiyamangalam near Mappedu in the neighbouring Tiruvallur district.

A specialized medical team from the Government Medical College Hospital was brought in to conduct the postmortem examination directly at the cemetery site. The procedure was closely monitored by senior officials to ensure a thorough investigation.

The exhumation and subsequent medical examination were conducted in the presence of Tiruvallur Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) Ravichandran, along with several other local revenue officials. Personnel from the Ambattur police department were also present at the cemetery to oversee the proceedings and assist the medical and revenue teams.