Row as families get different bodies at Indore hospital

Police claim identical first names of two deceased caused confusion

July 15, 2020 06:46 pm | Updated 06:46 pm IST - Bhopal

The Indore police are inquiring into how two bodies got changed and given to different families at a government hospital on Monday, with one of the families even mistakenly cremating the wrong body.

Santosh Patelia, father of one of the deceased Akash Patelia, 20, reached the M.Y. Hospital on Monday from neighbouring Dewas district to collect the body, which was handed over to him wrapped. “But we realised it was not him,” he said.

The hospital told him that the body of his son who died while undergoing treatment after he reportedly consumed acid was mistakenly taken by another family around noon. “There has been negligence by the hospital. And action should be taken against those responsible,” said Mr. Patelia, who filed a complaint against the hospital at the Sanyogitaganj police station.

“The bodies got changed as both the deceased had the identical first names,” said Rajeev Tripathi, incharge of the station. “After the post-mortem were conducted, their first names were announced at the hospital for families to collect the bodies which caused confusion.”

For the fear of COVID-19 , contended Mr. Tripathi, the family of the other deceased Akash Panchal, 25, didn’t open the covered body, and collected the wrong body earlier in the day. “They cremated it within an hour. And later, when handed over the correct body they cremated it too,” he said.

Hospital’s claim

The change occurred not at the hospital level but at the police level, claimed P.S. Thakur, the hospital’s superintendent. “We conducted the procedures on the bodies given to us by the police which they gave to the families later. Both are medico-legal cases after all,” he said.

The police were yet to register a case. “We are still investigating the matter and will act accordingly. Prima facie, the change doesn’t appear to be intentional,” said Mr. Tripathi.

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