Body exchanged, cremated; youth’s kin ransack hospital

Tribune News Service

Nikhil Bhardwaj

Ludhiana, January 5

In a strange incident, after the body of a youth, Ayush Sood (25), was mistakenly claimed by some other persons from the Civil Hospital’s mortuary thinking that the body was of their kin Manish Sharma (25) on Wednesday, high tension was witnessed at the hospital on Thursday morning when kin of Ayush went to claim his body on Thursday.

When Ayush’s kin came to know that his body was already claimed by some other persons and even the cremation was also performed, they turned furious and started ransacking the hospital.

The infuriated kin first ransacked the mother and child care ward and then took on to the emergency ward and even the office of the Senior Medical Officer (SMO).

After the incident, senior police officials, led by ADCP Rupinder Kaur Sran, ACP Ramandeep Bhullar, along with a huge force, reached the spot and calmed down the protesting kin.

As per information, Ayush Sood of the Peerubanda locality in Salem Tabri had died due to some illness on January 1. His body was kept at the Civil Hospital’s mortuary as his sisters had to come from abroad to take part in the last rituals. His cremation was scheduled on Thursday.

Yesterday, some residents came to the hospital to receive the body of their kin Manish Sharma of Tibba, a senior constable in the Government Railway Police (GRP), Ludhiana, who had died due to cardiac arrest. Instead of his body, they mistakenly took the body of Ayush and also cremated him. They did not see the body before taking it along with them.

This morning when Ayush’s father Rakesh Sood came to the hospital mortuary to receive the body, he was shocked to know that his body was alréady taken away by some residents yesterday and the body of Manish was lying in the mortuary. On this, the kin of Ayush turned furious and called their other relatives who then ransacked the hospital. The protesters broke most of the glasses of the emergency and mother and child care wards. They also damaged chairs and whatever came in their way. Doctors and staff who were present there had to run for cover to save their lives.

ADCP Rupinder Sran said the hospital authorities yesterday handed over the body of Ayush instead of Manish to the kin of the latter. Even the kin of Manish did not notice that they were taking the body of Ayush for cremation and they performed the last rites. Manish’s uncle had yesterday came to claim the body and without verifying the same, he asked mortuary officials to perform autopsy, following which he took the body directly to the cremation ground and performed the last rites.

“It is a matter of investigation why mortuary officials handed over Ayush’s body to the kin of Manish, whose body was also lying there. We will register a case of negligence against health officials who handed over the wrong body and even a case will also be registered against those who damaged the hospital property,” the ADCP said.

Docs go on strike, call it off after civil surgeon’s intervention

Doctors at the Civil Hospital on Thursday went on strike after kin of a deceased ransacked the mother and child ward, emergency ward and SMO office of the hospital. The incident occurred after the body of a youth kept in the hospital mortuary was mistakenly taken by another family. It was due to the timely intervention of Civil Surgeon Hitinder Kaur that the matter was solved and the strike was called off later in the day. ADCP Rupinder Sran took a quick action and deputed 10 cops. The police post has now been shifted to the room located in the emergency only.

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