Thiruvananthapuram: The Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital is again in the news for all the wrong reasons.
It handed over a wrong body to the relatives of a COVID victim, about a week after sending home a 55-year-old daily-wage worker from Vattiyoorkavu in Thiruvananthapuram with maggots all over his body following treatment for the coronavirus infection.
RMO Dr Mohan Roy, who investigated the incident, will hand over his report to the medical college principal on Monday. The report's conclusion is that the blunder happened because of a mistake on the part of the mortuary staff. The Special Branch has also launched an investigation into the case.
The body of an unidentified person kept in the mortuary was handed over to the relatives of R Devarajan (57) of Kallukuthivila house, at Nellivila, Venniyoor, in Venganoor.
Devarajan was in the hospital for nine days undergoing treatment for a kidney disease. He died in the morning on October 1. It was later confirmed that he had been infected with COVID.
The hospital released a body the next day as Devarajan’s. The relatives did not check the body as it was wrapped to comply with the COVID protocol.
Devarajan’s son Anoop, who came from abroad, expressed his desire to see his father before the funeral at the Santhi Kavadam (electric crematorium) in Thycaud. When he looked at his father’s face after removing the face covering, he noticed wrinkles and discolouration. His relatives told him that could have been because of dialysis.
After the cremation, Anoop got in touch with the Vizhinjam health inspector and expressed his doubts about the body. Subsequent inquiries revealed that the body was not Devarajan’s. His body was then handed over to his relatives on Sunday. The funeral was held at the Santhi Kavadam itself.
Devarajan is survived by wife Shobhana, daughter Ashwathy and son-in-law Bineesh, besides Anoop.
