LUCKNOW, March 15 -- A family's grief turned into a 12-hour ordeal at King George's Medical University (KGMU) after night duty doctors allegedly failed to respond to repeated calls from mortuary staff, delaying a postmortem examination and flouting state directives mandating round-the-clock autopsy services. Gyan Chandra, 60, a resident of Bachhrawan in Rae Bareli district, died in a road accident in the Nagram area on Friday. His body reached the KGMU postmortem house at around 11:35 pm that night. However, doctors on night shift allegedly did not answer repeated calls from the mortuary staff. Sources at the postmortem house said staff members also contacted the CMO office control room seeking help, but those calls too went unanswered. The body eventually lay at the mortuary for over 12 hours before the postmortem was conducted. The deceased's family, who had travelled hoping to take the body back to their native place at the earliest, waited through the night. "We repeatedly requested officials to conduct the postmortem examination as soon as possible, but no action was taken," a family member alleged. The state had earlier directed that postmortems be conducted round the clock to prevent inconvenience to bereaved families. Deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak had instructed authorities to ensure bodies are handed over to relatives within four hours. Dr NB Singh, Lucknow's CMO, was unavailable for comment. Yogesh Raghuwanshi, district health education and information officer, said doctors on the night shift are usually on an on-call roster and the matter would be examined to identify any negligence.htc...