The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation has launched an inquiry at YCM Hospital after a video appeared to show liquor bottles, snacks and food plates placed on a post-mortem table inside the facility’s mortuary department, while an individual slept on a nearby sofa.
The footage was recorded by a person who said he had been waiting overnight to collect a death certificate. In the video, the person is heard trying to wake medical personnel and pleading with a sleeping official after waiting for several hours. The Indian Express reported that the video showed bottles and drinks placed directly on the post-mortem table.
Maruti Gaikwad, acting dean of YCM Hospital and Medical College, confirmed that the administration had received the video and said an investigation would be conducted. “The video has come to us…We are looking into it. We will investigate the matter and take appropriate action,” Gaikwad told The Indian Express.
Gaikwad said he had taken temporary charge only a few days earlier because the regular dean, Dr Rajendra Wable, was recovering from a medical procedure. He also said he was not aware of the identity of the medical officer seen sleeping on the sofa.
“I am actually not aware of the medical officer who is seen sleeping on the sofa. I have taken the charge temporarily just a few days back. But we will investigate the matter and find out what has actually happened,” he said.
The inquiry places renewed attention on operational oversight at YCM Hospital, one of the largest public healthcare facilities in the Pune region. The PCMC-run hospital has a capacity of 750 beds and serves residents of Pimpri-Chinchwad and Pune city, as well as patients from neighbouring talukas including Maval, Mulshi, Khed, Ambegaon and Junnar.
For families dealing with a death, the post-mortem and death-certificate process is a critical administrative stage. The account of a person waiting overnight for documentation has therefore brought the functioning of the hospital’s mortuary department and the availability of responsible personnel into focus. The administration has not yet identified the individuals shown in the video or publicly established the circumstances surrounding the footage.
The controversy follows another reported lapse at YCM Hospital. In an earlier incident, a patient being transferred to Sassoon Hospital reportedly slid out of a moving ambulance. The patient, described in the report as homeless, was being shifted because YCM Hospital did not have a septic operation theatre. The hospital administration had asked the private contractor to take action against the ambulance driver and the staff accompanying the patient.
The current inquiry is expected to establish what occurred inside the post-mortem department, identify the personnel involved and determine whether hospital rules or official duties were breached. The hospital administration has said it will take appropriate action after examining the matter.
