HYDERABAD: A bizarre mix-up of bodies by the staff at the Osmania Hospital mortuary resulted in the burial and then exhumation of one of the bodies on Thursday, prolonging the agony of two families already grieving over the loss of their loved ones.
The mix-up came to light when one of the families came to the hospital mortuary to collect the body of their loved one. According to the hospital staffers, the mix-up occurred as two unidentified bodies were brought to the mortuary for postmortem examination on Wednesday.
On Thursday, a Muslim family from SR Nagar turned up at the mortuary and were handed a body which they took home and performed the last rites, burying it will all the solemnity that marks such an occasion.
Meanwhile, the family of one Pandu Ranga Chary from Mailadevpally reached the mortuary only to find that his body was handed over to the family from SR Nagar. The hospital superintendent said: “The bodies were received by the mortuary on Wednesday and were unidentified. When the family from SR Nagar were shown the body, they accepted it and took it away. When the family from Mailadevpally approached us, we realised the error and alerted the family from SR Nagar. The body was exhumed and handed over to the correct family.”
Kin failed to identify the body
According to the superintendent of the Osmania Hospital, the brother of the deceased was shown the body and failed to properly identity it as that of his loved one, resulting in the tragic mix-up