Ludhiana: The family of an elderly woman from Karahewala village was left in shock after the hospital administration allegedly handed over her body to another family, triggering a protest on the hospital premises on Monday.
The deceased, Jasbir Kaur, had been undergoing treatment at Orison Hospital for the past few days. She died during treatment on December 19. As her children were abroad, her husband Jaswant Singh had kept the body at the hospital mortuary, with the last rites scheduled for Monday.
Jaswant Singh, accompanied by a relative Sukhmander Singh, reached the hospital to collect the body. However, during the identification process before it was to be placed in an ambulance, they reportedly fainted after noticing that the body shown to them belonged to another elderly woman.
When the family questioned the hospital administration, they were allegedly given no clear explanation. Angered by the lapse, Jaswant Singh and his relatives began protesting inside the hospital.
Speaking to the media, Jaswant Singh said his children had travelled from Canada to see their mother for the last time and all arrangements for the cremation had already been completed. “The entire family is in deep shock,” he said, demanding strict action against those responsible for the negligence.
Hospital authorities were yet to issue an official statement on the incident at the time of filing this report.
