Mumbai: Body tested for COVID-19 against rules, now missing

The man, who tested positive after his death, was stabbed and died on the way to Rajawadi Hospital on June 2. File pic

Though the regulations don't allow testing a deceased for COVID-19, samples were collected from a body of a 27-year-old murder victim at Rajawadi Hospital in Ghatkopar earlier this week even after his family insisted that he had no symptoms. Apart from the trauma of losing a loved one, the victim's relatives said they waited for the test results for five days when the reports came back positive. However, their ordeal didn't end there, they have still not been able to perform the last rites as the body is now missing.

According to the relatives of the victim, Jamal (name changed), and the Deonar police, he was allegedly stabbed by his brother after a family squabble at Baiganwadi on June 2 evening. "A group of people beat him up badly and he was stabbed. Before that he was perfectly healthy and had no symptoms of COVID-19 either. He died on the way to the hospital. Since then, we have been waiting for them to hand over the body to us. We have made all the arrangements for his last rites and we have been making at least one trip to the hospital every day," said his cousin, Ali (name changed). The victim is survived by his wife and seven-year-old son.

Ali said every time they asked for an update, the hospital told them that his test results hadn't arrived. The relatives also alleged that the hospital has misplaced his body and that they have checked all the bodies in the mortuary.

Sakib Khan, a local social worker helping the family, said, "The hospital held on to the body for five days for testing even though the rules don't allow it. Why should the test results take so long? On top of that, the body of a murder victim is nowhere to be found. How can the hospital be so irresponsible?" he asked.

There was a different reason behind testing his body. Dr Vidya Thakur, medical superintendent of Rajawadi Hospital, said they had to test Jamal's body since the forensic department is concerned about contracting the infection during autopsy.

"They don't feel safe conducting the post-mortem and they are worried about their safety. They were not willing to touch the bodies and we have limited space. We had to test the body since it is a murder case and post-mortem has to be done," said Dr Thakur. When asked about the missing body, he said they have asked the mortuary attendants to come and help look for the body.

Additional municipal commissioner Suresh Kakani said bodies of patients are not tested for COVID-19, but in this case there is a chance of the infection spreading as a post mortem has to be conducted. "This infection either spreads through respiration or if the liver is ruptured. The entire viral load exists in the liver and the chances of infection increases during a post-mortem."

Police surgeon Dr S M Patil told mid-day that due to the test, they can now conduct the autopsy by taking adequate protection, including PPE kits. "We wouldn't have found out that the victim was a COVID-19 patient if the test wasn't done. While post-mortem can be excused in other cases, it has to be done in a murder case. Now the staff will wear double masks, double head gears and take all other precautions before conducting the procedure," he added.

Ragini Bhagat, senior inspector at Deonar police station, confirmed that Jamal was stabbed to death after an argument with family members.

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