A family from Kopri in Thane city, who had cremated a stranger due to a goof-up by a COVID-19 hospital, will now again have to perform the last rites of their kin who died of the infection late on Tuesday night.
The matter came to light when the family of a 72-year-old patient filed a complaint with the police stating that the man had gone missing from Global Hub Covid Hospital, where he was shifted for treatment on June 29.
Investigations revealed that the body of the septuagenarian, who had disappeared from the hospital on July 5, was allegedly handed over to the family of another COVID-19 patient who was very much alive at the time, an official said.
"A probe by a civic team set up on Tuesday found that the kin of this family in Kopri is alive and under treatment at a COVID facility. The hospital has said the goof-up was a result of case papers of the two patients getting mixed up," the official said.
In a statement, the family from Kopri said the hospital on July 3 had informed them that their 67-year-old relative had succumbed to the infection and the body was handed over to them in a sealed bag as per COVID-19 protocol, following which the last rites were performed.
The family of the sexagenarian were shocked when they got a call from the newly inaugurated 1,000-bed hospital on Monday stating that their loved one was alive and was being treated in the ICU, the statement read.
Their joy, however, was short-lived when their kin also died of the infection late on Tuesday night, a senior civic official said.
Taking cognizance of the incident, Thane Mayor Naresh Mhaske dashed off a letter to Municipal Commissioner Dr Vipin Sharma, seeking an inquiry into the matter and demanded strong action against the staff involved in it.
Meanwhile, chief of the BJP's Thane city unit and MLC Niranjan Davkhare came down heavily on the TMC administration for the lapses.
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