Lucknow: An FIR has been filed against a private hospital in Lucknow after the dead bodies of two elderly women belonging to Hindu and Muslim faiths were exchanged when they were handed over to their families.
The complaint against Sahara Hospital was filed by the son of one of the deceased women, Ishrat Mirza, after the mix-up led to her last rites being performed as per Hindu rituals.
Saeed Mirza, an American national, stated in his complaint that the body of his mother was willingly handed over to others, and alleged that this could be a case of an organ donation racket as there was something wrong with the bodies.
A case has been filed at the Vibhuti Khand police station under Section 297 of the IPC, which deals with “trespassing on burial places”. SHO, Rajeev Dwivedi said, “The information about this case was received some days ago and the matter was being probed. An FIR has been filed in this regard after we received a written complaint.”
The bodies of the two women, both in their 70s, got exchanged after they both died on February 11. The deceased women, 73-year-old Ishrat Mirza and 78-year-old Archana Garg, were admitted in the hospital for some time.
Later, bodies of both the women were taken by their families for cremation. However, a day later, Mirza's family realised that the body handed over to Garg’s kin was that of Mirza. By the time the hospital authorities realised their mistake, Mirza's body had already been cremated as per Hindu norms.
The administration at Sahara Hospital has admitted to negligence in handing over the dead bodies. Speaking to media on the issue, Ghulam Zeeshan, Head of Communications at Sahara Hospital said, “There was a breach of our standard protocol followed at the hospital and we have taken action on the responsible employees and they have been suspended. We are probing the matter further.”