The body of a 19-year old murder victim who died on Wednesday was exhumed from her town in Dholera Friday evening after her family members learned that the body was swapped with that of a 26-year-old pregnant woman who died during delivery on Thursday morning at V S Hospital.
Mittal Jadav, the 19-year old Dalit woman, was stabbed to death by three men in broad daylight at a busy market place in Bavla in Ahmedabad district on Wednesday evening. The family buried her body on Friday morning at Dholera in Ahmedabad district at 7 am after it was handed over to them at around 1 am by VS Hospital where she had been brought for treatment.
The hospital is run by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation.
Ahmedabad Mayor Bijal Patel and VS Hospital medical superintendent Manish Patel blamed the class IV staff member at the morgue who handed over Mittal’s body to the family. They also said the woman’s family and the police must also bear responsibility for the mix-up.
However, Superintendent of Police, Ahmedabad (rural), RV Asari denied any lapse on the part of police.
Mittal was brought to VS Hospital on Wednesday evening around 7.30 pm and was declared brought dead by a team of doctors at the hospital, while 26-year-old Nasreen Saiyed was declared dead at around 6.30 am on Thursday due to medical complications while giving birth.
After the post mortem on Thursday evening, Nasreen’s family decided to cremate her at 3.30 pm Friday. When the family members reached the hospital morgue to claim Nasreen’s body around 2 pm on Friday, they were told that the body was missing.
The family members said that they had paid the VS Hospital a total of Rs 400 to keep her body in the morgue for two days, so that her husband could come from Karnataka to attend the last rites.
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Initially, chaos ensued when the it was discovered that Nasreen’s body was missing. The family members sat on a protest outside the morgue seeking answers. After a while, hospital staff made inquiries and realised that the body of Mittal was still lying in the morgue but the hospital documents showed that her family members had already claimed and taken away the body. Mittal’s family was then contacted.
“At around 12 midnight we were shown Mittal’s body for identification before handing it out to us at around 1 am today which was done in the presence of police. The morgue staff helped us to keep the body in the van,’ Mittal’s father Ramesh Jadav told The Indian Express.
“At around 4 pm today we came to know that the bodies have been swapped when Nasreen’s family members came to take away her body,” added Jaswant, Mittal’s uncle.
Ramesh claimed that since the body was lying in the morgue since Wednesday, they had assumed that it had got swollen. “Since the body was packed we did not check her face again before taking her away with us.”
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Mittal’s cousin Nimeghsen Chavda said, “We demand action against this callous attitude.”
Nasreen’s body was finally brought from Dholera burial site to V S Hospital by her father Akram around 10 pm.
Nasreen’s family too blamed it hospital authorities. “This is gross violation and mismanagement on part of the hospital authorities and police. Our sister’s body was given to another grieving family due to the lethargic attitude of hospital staff and police. Now they have to exhume her body,” said Waseem Shaikh, brother of Nasreen.
Mayor Bijal Patel has ordered an inquiry.
Mittal was brought to VS Hospital on Wednesday evening around 7.30 pm and was declared brought dead by a team of doctors at the hospital, while 26-year-old Nasreen Saiyed was declared dead at around 6.30 am on Thursday. (Representational)
