Dispute over bodies lingers, Trinamool leader faces relatives’ wrath

Relatives and friends of victims of Stephen Court fire protest against SSKM hospital authorities for failing to identify bodies of victims, on Thursday. Photo: Arunangsu Roy Chowdhury

Bhaskar Chakraborty was about to take his wife’s body from a morgue when someone came and claimed it was his daughter’s. Meanwhile, Bidyut Chandra’s body was not handed over to his family as the relatives of another missing person Prithwis Ghosh claimed it.

The two families are still waiting and are uncertain when they will get the bodies of their loved ones.

At the SSKM Hospital, relatives of those missing since Tuesday’s fire at Stephen Court building in Park Street are desperately looking for their near and dear ones.

According to hospital sources, there were four bodies in the morgue while there were eight claimants.

Bhaskar Chakraborty, who had identified wife Tapati’s body on Wednesday and had completed all formalities at the SSKM, arrived at the morgue Thursday morning to take it away, but was not allowed to do so. The hospital authorities told him it would be handed over only after a DNA test since another man claimed it as that of his daughter.

“Just when the body was to be given to us, a gentleman came and claimed it was his daughter’s. He was not seen since, but the authorities decided to conduct a DNA test. We are waiting. My little son wants to see his mother. I don’t know when he can see it,” he said, breaking down.

The authorities also refused to hand over the body of Bidyut even after completion of formalities as the relatives of Prithwis claimed the body.

Relatives of Rinku Dutta, Bhagyashree Dhali, Ruby Begum, Arati Sharma and Ankush Ghosh claimed they were not getting any cooperation either from the hospital or the police in identification of the bodies. “We are running from pillar to post trying to find out whether we can claim the bodies, but no one seems to know anything,” the relatives said. The hospital authorities have not put up a list of bodies identified either.

Later, irate relatives of a missing woman Richa Dutta heckled senior Trinamool leader Partha Chatterjee who came to the mortuary with a Trinamool Congress team.

Trinamool Congress, however, played down the incident saying Chatterjee had been mistaken for an officer of the State administration.