UP deputy CM orders probe after GIMS ‘forgets’ about body in freezer for 15 days

The matter was reported on October 7 when the hospital sent out a memo to Kasna police station informing them about the death

Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak on Friday ordered an inquiry into Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) in Greater Noida after it came to fore that the hospital allegedly forgot to inform the police about the death of a 70-year-old man and his body lay forgotten in the hospital mortuary for about 15 days.

HT Image

The matter was reported on October 7 when the hospital sent out a memo to Kasna police station informing them about the death.

“The memo stated that on July 22, a person identified as Sohanpal (70), a resident of Eta-1, Greater Noida, was brought to GIMS in a critical condition. He died on September 23 and his body was moved to the mortuary, but the hospital did not inform the police, which is the next step in such cases,” said Santosh Kumar Shukla, station house officer of Kasna police station.

According to legal procedures, the hospital has to inform the local police station about any death happening at their facility immediately, so that police can carry out further legal proceedings, which include filling out an identification form and getting the autopsy done, in case the body remains unclaimed.

Shukla informed Surajpur SHO about the memo as the deceased was a resident of a locality under the jurisdiction of the Surajpur police station.

“We took the body into custody and carried out its identification and sent it out for a post-mortem examination to the mortuary in Sector 94, Noida. There, doctors revealed that the body was at least 15 days old,” said Awadhesh Pratap Singh, SHO of Surajpur police station.

The matter was brought to the attention of higher officials of the health department.

“Once the forensic doctors raised concerns that a body was brought for autopsy 15 days after death, the matter was communicated to officials of GIMS. The institute does not come under the district health department,” said Dr Sunil Kumar Sharma, chief medical officer, Gautam Budh Nagar.

SHO Singh said on October 8, an autopsy of the deceased was carried out and on October 9, the body was cremated. “Police contacted a neighbour of the deceased in his locality and with his help, the body was cremated on October 9,” said Singh.

On October 9, GIMS released a statement on the matter.

“The patient was admitted to the GIMS on July 22 after a brain stroke and died on September 23 after which the body was shifted to the mortuary. The person who brought the patient to the hospital remained inaccessible during the entire course of treatment,” GIMS said in a statement.

The statement added that the person who got the patient admitted to the hospital could not be contacted over the phone and, eventually, on October 7, the hospital informed the Kasna police station about the death.

“The entire treatment, for over two months, was provided free of cost and teams from multiple departments were looking after the patient,” the hospital further said.

According to a statement by the state government on Friday, deputy CM Brajesh Pathak, who is also the health minister, has taken cognizance of the matter and has directed the principal secretary of the medical education department -- GIMS comes under this department -- to seek clarification from the director of GIMS.

“A serious instance of a dead body being forgotten in a freezer for 15 days has come to light at the Government Institute of Medical Sciences in Greater Noida. Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak has taken cognizance of this highly sensitive incident. The institute staff had carelessly kept the body in the freezer for 15 days and forgot about it. The deputy CM said the entire incident will be investigated and strict action will be taken against those responsible,” the statement said.

Pathak also released a similar statement on his official X (formerly Twitter) handle.

GIMS director brigadier RK Gupta (retired) was unavailable for a comment on the matter.