Hyderabad: Utter chaos continues to mark COVID-19 care at Hyderabad's Gandhi Hospital with yet another instance of a body of a COVID-19 victim being handed over to a different family which had also lost a member to the disease.
The other family completed the formalities and the body of the man, identified as Rashed Ali Khan, was sent away for burial in the presence of his representatives.
This has left Rashed Ali Khan’s family in severe distress. Till late in the night, they were exploring the possibility of the grave being dug open so they can conduct their prayers and perform the last rites.
According to Ubaid Ali Khan, nephew of Rashed Ali Khan, all they want is one last look at his body. “What has happened has happened. There is no point in entering into a fight. We understand that the other family too has lost a loved one. We just want one last look at my uncle’s body. I am even willing to go and help the other family with burying their member who too lost his life to the disease,” Ubaid Ali Khan told Deccan Chronicle.
It was learnt that Rashed Ali Khan and the other deceased person were somewhat similar in appearance and it would not have been easy for the families to make out who was who after the bodies were disinfected and sealed in wrapping with a clear plastic sheet through which only the face could be seen.
“Because of this situation, Rashed Ali Khan’s body was mistaken to be that of their family member,” an official explained. Rashed Ali Khan’s body was buried at a graveyard in Shivrampalli.
Ubaid Ali Khan said his uncle was first admitted to a private hospital on June 8 and shifted to Gandhi Hospital the next day. “On Wednesday morning, we received a call from the police saying my uncle passed away and that we had to come to identify the body. At the hospital, we had to wait for a long time and it was in the evening that the mortuary staff asked us to identify the body from among 13 others but we could not find my uncle,” he said.
He said that it was on Thursday that the police informed them that his uncle’s body was handed over to a family residing in Bandlaguda.
