KALPETTA: In an appalling mix-up, the bereaved family of a 29-year-old youth, who passed away in Abu Dhabi, was handed over the wrong body for the last rites. According to reports, Nidhin O K, a native of Payikolli near Ambalavayal, died in Abu Dhabi in the UAE on July 5. The ‘body’ was received by Nidhin’s relatives and friends at the Calicut airport on Friday around 10.30 am.
It was only after reaching the Government Hospital in Ambalavayal around 3 pm the family members came to know the casket contained the wrong body. The family received a call from a hospital in Abu Dhabi saying the body handed over to them was not of Nidhin, but of a Chennai resident. The casket containing the wrong body was sealed and shifted to a private hospital in Sulthan Bathery.
“It’s shocking and a disgrace. The family was distressed,” said Anil K R, the family’s neighbour and an ex-member of the Ambalavayal panchayat. “The incident has been reported to the Ministry of External Affairs and the CMO,” he said.
“It appears the mortuary of the Abu Dhabi hospital is responsible,” he said. However, there has been no official communication on how the wrong body was sent to Nidhin’s home.