CUTTACK: A shocking case of misidentification left the family of an elderly woman distressed after they mistakenly took home the body of another person from the mortuary of SCB Medical College and Hospital (SCB MCH) here.
The deceased was identified as Swarnalata Sahoo (62), a resident of Lunahar village in Salepur. She suffered a heart attack on Wednesday and was rushed to Salepur CHC and later shifted to SCB MCH, where she succumbed the same night. Her body was kept in the hospital mortuary for a postmortem scheduled on Thursday.
Swarnalata’s body was the second-to-last to be shifted to the dissection table before the postmortem ended at 5 pm. The Forensic Medicine and Toxicology (FMT) department staff asked her son, Kailash Sahoo, to identify the body. However, he failed to recognise his mother and inadvertently took home the body of another woman from Keonjhar.
The family and villagers realised the mistake while preparing for the final rites after removing the wrapped polythene sheet. They immediately contacted SCB MCH authorities and, with local help, returned the wrong body and retrieved Swarnalata’s body.
Swarnalata’s daughter-in-law, Bharati Sahoo, said, “After my mother-in-law’s death, my husband became mentally disturbed. The hospital personnel asked us to identify and receive her body. My husband accepted it without properly checking.” She also alleged her mother-in-law’s gold earrings went missing either in the mortuary or during autopsy. A local villager accompanying the family said, “When we went to exchange the body, the sweepers initially refused and demanded `1,000 as bribe. We could receive the body only after paying the bribe.”
SCB MCH registrar (Administration) Subash Chandra Ray stated all identification protocols were followed properly. He clarified that Swarnalata’s son mistakenly identified the body and signed the dead body identification form before the body was handed over, dismissing allegations of theft. He added that a report has been sought from the head of the FMT department on the allegations bribery.
