Covid victim’s jewellery stolen at hospital in Hyderabad: Kin

HYDERABAD: Family members of a woman in her nineties, who succumbed to Covid-19 while undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Banjara Hills, lodged a complaint alleging that Rs 6 lakh worth of gold jewellery was stolen by someone at the hospital.
The woman’s final rites were performed on July 25. After the final rites, family members recalled that she had jewellery including a stone studded gold chain, gold ring and gold nose stud and ear studs when admitted the hospital.
Suspicious over the missing jewellery, family members checked the photographs of the body taken at the hospital before she was put in the body bag.“In the photograph there was no jewellery on the body and suspecting that hospital staff might have stolen the jewellery, they lodged a complaint with us on Saturday,” Banjara Hills police said.
Police verified footage from the hospital’s CCTV camera and noticed that when the body was being shifted from her room, some of the jewellery could clearly be seen on the victim’s body.
“It appears like someone removed the jewellery before the body was placed in the bag. We have identified four suspects who were attending to the patient at the hospital. We are questioning them,” said an investigator.
Based on the complaint lodged by the victim’s 73-year-old son from Koti, a case has been registered under section-380 (theft) of the Indian Penal Code.