‘What is a verbal autopsy?’ HC slams MP water report in contaminated water case

THe Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh heights margaret court on tues raised objections to the dying scrutinise and analysis of the deaths of 23 people in Indore’s Bhagirathpura area roughly a month ago due to contaminated water, observing that the government report failed to explain the cause of death with reasoning or supporting material.The remarks by the division bench of justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi came on a set of petitions linked to the crisis which became public on December 29 when three residents of Bhagirathpura died after complaining of vomiting and diarrhoea. Since then, at least 23 deaths have been linked to sewage mixed with the drinking water supply.On Tuesday, the bench termed the report —submitted by the health department— vague and an “eyewash,” taking particular exception to the usage of the term “verbal autopsy” while mentioning the source of information in death analysis.“Is verbal autopsy a medical term or a term coined by the state government? What is its medical, scientific, and legal credibility? The state government should place more reliable and appropriate documents on record to establish the credibility of the report,” said the bench. “It is a matter of deep concern over the continuing daily deaths and the uncertainty surrounding their causes. The situation is extremely worrying.”Directing the municipal corporation to seriously consider testing water as per international standards suggested by the petitioner, the court reserved its final order.Additional advocate general Rahul Sethi said he can’t comment without the court order.In Bhagirathpura, 23 people lost their lives after consuming water infected with a polymicrobial mix of E coli, Salmonella, Vibrio cholera, viruses, and fungi. The leakage was found in the Narmada water pipeline and sewerage water was found mixing in it. The state government acknowledged only 16 deaths after being reported for the first time on December 29 and later declared it epidemic.According to the death audit and analysis report submitted by the state government on January 20, a committee was constituted for analysis of the current “gastroenteritis epidemic deaths” in Bhagirathpura.“To date, the committee has analysed a total of 23 deaths including one death report sent by the joint director office, based on information, case sheets and verbal autopsy details provided by the Chief Medical Health Officers (CMHO) and RJD health officials,” said the report, seen by HT. In the report, there appeared to be some confusion about the toll as well.“Out of six deaths that were initially admitted to be caused due to the epidemic, the cause of death of Arvind Nikar remains open. Similarly, the cause of death of 65-year-old Manjula remains open but admitted to be related to the epidemic. The death of nine others are related to the epidemic but the remark said it was probably related to the current epidemic and possible due to the epidemic according to history available. The cause of three deaths remain inconclusive and four are not related to the epidemic,” said the report.Senior advocate Ajay Bagadia, representing the petitioner, questioned the credibility of the report before the court. “There is a contradiction in the causes of death mentioned in the document and most deaths were recorded as inconclusive,” he said.Sunil Jain, who represented the municipal corporation, submitted that it will file a rejoinder to provide further clarity.Meanwhile, the bench formed a one-member panel of justice Sushil Kumar Gupta, former Madhya Pradesh HC judge, to probe the issues relating to water contamination in Bhagirathpura, and its impact on other parts of Indore.