Indian doctors suspended after severed leg used as pillow

NEW DELHI: Indian authorities have suspended two doctors and launched an investigation after a patient´s severed leg was used as a pillow to prop up his head, a hospital official said on Sunday.

Administrators at the government-run hospital in Uttar Pradesh state vowed "strict action" after images emerged showing the patient on a stretcher with the amputated limb being used as a headrest.

"We have set up a four-member committee to find out who put the severed leg under the patient´s head," said Sadhna Kaushik, principal of the Maharani Laxmibai Medical College and Hospital in Jhansi, told AFP.

"Strict action will be taken if our staff is found at fault." Two doctors have been suspended pending investigation, she added. The man, identified as 28-year-old Ghanshyam, was seriously injured in a bus accident.

His relatives told the local NDTV news network that hospital staff ignored their requests that Ghanshyam, who goes by one name, be given a pillow. "When we reached the hospital, we saw his leg being used as a headrest," Janaki Prasad, a relative, told NDTV. "I repeatedly asked the doctors to intervene but they refused," Prasad added, saying Ghanshyam´s relatives eventually bought a pillow from a local market.