Rajkot Civil Hospital Body Swap: Wrong Man Cremated

RAJKOT: In a shocking lapse at Rajkot Civil Hospital, the body of a 92-year-old man was allegedly handed over to another family, which performed the last rites without realising the mix-up. The tragedy deepened when the deceased’s daughter, who had travelled from the US to attend her father’s funeral, arrived too late to see him for the final time.

The incident came to light on Wednesday when the family of Harsukhlal Shantilal Thakar reached the Civil Hospital morgue to collect his body. Instead, they were informed that the body had been mistakenly handed over to the family of another elderly man from Mumbai and cremated at the Ramnathpara crematorium at around 2.30 pm on Tuesday.

Harsukhlal had been admitted to a private hospital in Rajkot for hip surgery. His son, Mukeshbhai, said the family had decided to wait for his daughter to arrive from America before conducting the funeral.

“My father was 92 and his condition had deteriorated after surgery. He was put on a ventilator and later passed away. We kept his body in the Civil Hospital cold storage on September 28 so that my sister could reach Rajkot for the funeral,” Mukeshbhai said.

However, when the family arrived on Wednesday morning, they could not locate the body.

Hospital staff subsequently discovered that the bodies had been mixed up and that Harsukhlal’s body had already been cremated by another family.

The bereaved family approached Pradyumnanagar Police Station, demanding strict action against those responsible. Police have made an entry regarding the incident and initiated proceedings.

Rajkot Civil Hospital Superintendent Kamalsinh Dodiya termed the incident “very serious and unfortunate” and said an inquiry committee had been constituted.

“We will investigate how the body mix-up occurred and determine whether there was any criminal negligence,” Dodiya said.

He added that the hospital would formulate a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to prevent such incidents in the future.