Relatives of Nitin Mahajan (45), who died in Ruby Hall Clinic yesterday, were shocked to discover that the hospital had handed over the body to another family; institute has issued an apology and promised to compensate the family.
Relatives of 45-year-old Nitin Mahajan who died in Ruby Hall Clinic at 1 am yesterday, were shocked to the core when they discovered that the hospital has given the body to one Kadam family.
Mahajan, who hails from Nashik, was admitted to the hospital for a valve replacement surgery. After he died yesterday, the family kept the body in the morgue. Later, when the relatives went to claim the body to perform the last rites, they realised that the body was missing.
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Body politics: Nitin Mahajan’s relatives gather outside Ruby Hospital after the goof-up; (inset) The apology letter that the hospital authorities issued to the family. Pics/Krunal Gosavi
“When we confronted the hospital administration, they tried to play down the goof-up. When we contacted the Kadams, they too were shocked to know that the hospital gave them the wrong body,” said Sachin Mahajan’s brother. “The hospital administration then sent Kadam’s body to his house, while my brother’s body, which was in another hospital, was brought back,” Sachin said.
Representation Pic
“The hospital had earlier instructed us to take Kadam’s body and exchange it with Mahajan’s body some where on the way,” said one of the relatives.“The hospital administration was initially reluctant to help the family and shared information about the Kadam family only after they raised an alarm,” Sachin said.
Likewise, the Kadam family too was shocked with the goof-up. “My uncle Dilip Kadam died at Ruby Hospital on Saturday. We decided to bring the body on Sunday, as his son’s practical exams were on. As the body was wrapped in cloth, we didn’t see the face. It was only when we removed the cloth to bathe the body that we realised that he was not my uncle,” said Kadam’s nephew.
Meanwhile the Mahajans demanded an apology from hospital administration for the goof-up. “The hospital has given us a letter apologising for the incident,” Sachin said.
However, when the Mahajans demanded to meet the hospital officials, the administration called up the police. “The hospital authorities have spoken to the relatives and also issued an apology letter. Besides, they have called relatives on the Monday to pay some compensation for the goof-up that happened on their part,” said VK Jachak, assistant police inspector of Mangaldas Road police chowky.
The Mahajan family has decided to donate the compensation amount to an organisation or someone needy. Speaking to MiD DAY, medical director of the hospital Sujata Malik said, “We have issued an apology letter to the concerned family, and the bodies have now been handed over to their respective family members.”
When contacted and asked about how the goof-up happened, the chief security officer of the hospital Lt Col (retd) Satishkumar Bhatia threatened this reporter, saying that he would sue the publication if we publish his name. A recoding of the conversation is with MiD DAY.
“Just tear off the page from your notepad. If you publish either my or the CEO’s name, I’ll sue you,” he warned. Pointing at the security guards who had gathered at the spot, Bhatia threatened this reporter that he would produce them as witnesses and claim that the reporter was hindering him while he was discharging his duties.u00a0
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