Hindu family in Gwalior claims Muslim man’s body, cremates it, hospital orders probe
On Saturday evening, the hospital staff showed the family members of the Muslim man a different body and then asked them to return in the morning.
A hospital in Gwalior handed over the body of a Muslim man on Saturday to a Hindu family which did not remove the plastic to take a look even after he had tested negative for Covid-19 and cremated it, the Madhya Pradesh police said Sunday.
The family members of the Muslim man have lodged a complaint with the police over the goof-up .
This incident came to light on Sunday morning when family members of Irtaza Mohammed, 64, reached the hospital to bring the body. Earlier, on Saturday evening when they wanted to take the body for burial, the staff in the hospital showed them a different body and then asked them to return in the morning.
Gwalior superintendent of police, Amit Sanghi said, “On August 13, Suresh Batham, 70, a resident of Bohadapur area in Gwalior and Irtaza Mohammed, 64, a resident of Morena died during their treatment at Jayarogya Hospital. The hospital refused to hand over the bodies to the families of both the deceased as Covid-19 test reports were awaited. Irtaza’s test report came back negative on Saturday. Hence, his nephew Akram Khan and others went to the hospital to collect the body in the evening. The staffers showed them the body of Suresh Batham but Akram told them that it was not Irtaza’s body.”
“Later, staffers asked them to come on Sunday morning. Akram reached the hospital on Sunday morning with some of his relatives where they were informed that Irtaza’s body had been handed over to Suresh Batham’s family on Saturday morning. Later, it came to be known that Batham’s family which took Irtaza’s body had already cremated it ,” said Sanghi.
The hospital superintendent RKS Dhakad blamed Batham’s family for the goof-up. Both the bodies were covered in plastic sheets because they had died before testing negative for Covid-19 and Batham’s family members did not bother to check whether they were taking his body.
“When Batham family members came to the hospital they were asked to identify him but they took Irtaza’s body instead which was covered in plastic as he was a suspected patient of Covid 19. As Batham’s test report had also come negative they should have removed the plastic cover at home at least to identify the body,” said Dhakad.
He said an inquiry has been ordered and action would be taken against the staffers concerned if they are found guilty.
The family members of Batham who collected his body from the hospital on Sunday refused to talk to reporters.