Tags:
Journalism of Courage
NEW DELHI, December 7: A woman’s body was interchanged with that of another at the Safdarjung Hospital when it was being handed over to her relatives’. Both the women, who had similar names, died on the same day and had received close to 95 per cent burns in two separate cases. The relatives’ went ahead and cremated the body on the same day.
The faux pas was detected by a doctor who was assisting the family of the second woman when he discovered that her physical attributes did not match those mentioned on the Medico-Legal Case-sheet. Twenty-seven-year old Pushplata Biswal, a resident of Pitampura, had been admitted to the Safdarjung Hospital with more than 90 per cent burns. She succumbed to her injuries on December 4. But when the post-mortem was being conducted, it was found that her physical attributes did not match with those of the body that was being handed over to her family.
Pushpalata was said to be seven-months pregnant when she was brought in and the doctors had removed the foetus, as the child had died. The mistake came to light when the doctor could not find the scar on the body that was now being handed to them.
This body actually belonged to Pushpa Biswas who had also been brought to the hospital with around 95 per cent burns. She too died on the December 4. According to R.N. Salhan, the Medical Superintendent of Safdarjung Hospital, the confusion occurred because of the similarities in the names and surnames, age, extent of burns and the date they both died. Even the last two numbers in their case report are said to be similar.
He said that the police had been informed in both the cases as is done normally in such cases. The relatives of Pushpa Biswas, who was a resident of Kalyanpuri, had claimed the body after supposedly identifying it in the presence of the Investigating Officer and the SDM, he said. As per the discretion of the police, the body had been accepted without a post-mortem being conducted and cremated by the family’ the very day — only it was the wrong body. Even the second party, again accompanied by the police, had supposedly identified’ the body. It was only the doctor who was handling the case who noticed the change.
Pushplata’s husband, Balram Biswal, has been arrested and a case of dowry death has been registered against him at the Saraswati Vihar police station following a complaint by her brother to the SDM.
