Thiruvananthapuram Medical College hands over body of man to wrong family

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In an instance of negligence, the body of a person, who tested positive for COVID-19 after death, was handed over to the wrong family. The incident came to light when the family members of Cheriyakolla native Prasad (47) were shown the body of another man in the mortuary. Later, it was found that the hospital authorities had accidentally handed over Prasad's body to another family. According to hospital authorities, Prasad's body was handed over to the family of Venganoor native Manikandan (49). However, this was denied by Manikandan's family. According to Manikandan's family, they were shown Manikandan's body inside the mortuary. They also said that by the time the hospital authorities called to inform them about the mistake, they had already performed the funeral.

Later, the hospital superintendent explained that Manikandan's family had performed the funeral of the wrong body and that V Mohanakumar, a security guard at the mortuary, was suspended pending further investigation in connection with the incident. Last year, a controversy had erupted after the hospital authorities handed over the body of a person to the wrong family.

The Incident

Prasad died on May 1 morning. Prasad, who was admitted to the hospital due to high blood pressure, had tested positive for COVID after death. Manikandan, a native of Venganoor, also died at 10 am on the same day. Manikandan's samples too had returned COVID positive. The bodies of the two were kept in adjacent freezers. Manikandan's relatives, who came first to collect the body, were made to wear PPE kits and were shown the body in the mortuary. A health inspector from their area was also present. An ambulance arrived shortly after that and the staff loaded the body into it. The body was cremated at the Thycaud Shanthi Kavadam.

Meanwhile, the family members of Prasad, who reached the hospital to collect his body, were not able to find his body. Subsequent inquiries into the complaint revealed that the body had been handed over to the wrong family.

Hospital officials have reiterated that Manikandan's body is kept in the mortuary. However, Manikandan's relatives said that they had received his body and were not interested in creating controversy.

Prasad's relatives lodged a complaint with the Medical College Police. Neyyattinkara MLA K Ansalan had contacted the medical college authorities pointing out the mistake.