Noida district hospital officials, police trade blame over body left in morgue

64-year-old Ved Prakash died at the hospital on October 18. The dispute is over when the police were informed and when the body was collected from the mortuary

A blame game has started between the Noida district hospital and the police after the body of a 64-year-old man, who died at the hospital on October 18, was left in the hospital mortuary for at least five or six days, before it was collected and cremated by the police.

By law, a hospital needs to inform the police about any death at the hospital facility immediately, especially if the body is unclaimed. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

Senior police officers said the district health authorities and the Noida police are disputing the date on which the police were informed and when the body was collected from the mortuary.

According to the hospital, it informed the police on October 18. But the police said the hospital told them only on October 23, after which they collected the body.

But according to the hospital, the police collected the body only on October 24.

By law, a hospital needs to inform the police about any death at the hospital facility immediately, especially if the body is unclaimed.

The deceased man, identified as Ved Prakash, arrived at the Bisrakh community health centre (CHC) on October 18 with stomach complications, and he was referred to the Noida district hospital in Sector 39. The man died during treatment at the district hospital the same day, said health officials.

The police said the hospital informed them about the death on October 23 and not October 18. The hospital said that the police collected the body on October 24 and not October 23. (HT Photo)

Health officials said the man had difficulty breathing when he arrived and was being treated for it. His autopsy revealed stomach problem as cause of death, said police.

The man had told the hospital authorities that he was a resident of Modinagar in Ghaziabad.

According to the hospital authorities, he did not provide any other identification or contact details and did not have a mobile phone or any other identification papers on him.

“The man was admitted to the district hospital on October 18 and died the same day following health complications. We informed the Sector 39 police station about the death on October 18 and asked them to collect the body from the hospital mortuary. However, the police did not turn up. We have the details and proofs that the police were informed of the patient’s death,” said Dr Renu Agarwal, chief medical superintendent (CMS) of the district hospital.

“On October 23, and again on October 24, the hospital sent reminders to the police,” she said.

The police disputed the hospital’s version, saying no record of the death was found at the Sector 39 police station, under whose jurisdiction the hospital falls, and that the hospital informed them about the death only on October 23.

“The information regarding a body kept at the district hospital mortuary was received by the police on October 23, and according to the rules, we immediately informed the Bisrakh police station. The information was provided to us late, and we are investigating why this happened. We keep records, and the hospital must also provide its records when asked,” said Jitendra Singh, station house officer of the Sector 39 police station.

“After information was received from the Sector 39 police on October 23 that a person’s body was unclaimed at the hospital’s morgue, we rushed to the hospital and collected the corpse. According to law, when a body is not claimed by anyone or its family/relatives are unable to be traced, the corpse is kept for 72 hours before being cremated,” said Anil Rajpoot, station house officer of the Bisrakh police station.

“As the body remained unclaimed for over 72 hours, an autopsy was conducted, and it was cremated on October 26. The autopsy revealed that the man had a stomach problem, and his viscera had been preserved. We are trying to identify his family/relatives in Modinagar, and a search is ongoing,” SHO Rajpoot added.

The hospital said that the police collected the body on October 24 and not October 23.

In a related incident earlier this month, the Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) in Greater Noida reportedly forgot to apprise the police about the death of a 70-year-old man, and his corpse lay unattended in the hospital mortuary for two weeks. A probe was ordered by the state health minister, Brajesh Pathak, into the incident.