After a COVID-19 patient, who went missing from Shatabdi Hospital, was found dead on railway tracks nearby on Monday, Mayor Kishori Pednekar has called for an inquiry into the security lapses.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corpoartion (BMC), meanwhile, has ordered an inquiry into the body of a patient going missing from Rajawadi Hospital. A senior doctor from the public health department has been directed to submit a report within five days, including measures to prevent such incidents.

There have been six incidents of bodies of COVID-19 patients going missing from hospitals. The BMC, in a statement on Tuesday, cited inability to trace relatives as the reason. “Even though these incidents have happened due to relatives being incommunicable or late communication, the BMC has never justified these incidents,” it said.

The Shatabdi patient, a senior citizen from Kurar village in Malad (East), was admitted on June 6 with fever and stomach ailments, according to a letter written by his grandson Pravin Raut to BJP corporator Vinod Mishra. He tested positive soon after. The family has alleged that he was kept near COVID-19 patients and bodies before testing positive.

On Monday, the family received a call saying the patient had gone missing. Since they are in quarantine, they sent a friend to the hospital. By this time, the hospital had informed the Kandivali police.

Railway accident alert

In the evening, local residents informed relatives of a railway accident. The body had been brought to the same hospital for post-mortem, but it was only when family enquired that authorities confirmed it was of the missing patient.

Government Railway Police (GRP) officials said around 7 a.m., a man was run over by a workmen special train Western Railway runs for its staff. “The site was on the section of the track behind Shatabdi Hospital. It is yet to be ascertained whether it was an accident or suicide,” a senior GRP official said. The GRP initially registered the death of an unknown person, but later realised he was the missing patient.

‘Lax security’

Mr. Mishra said, “This is not the first incident of a COVID-19 patient trying to flee. Patients are under a lot of stress. When a person in home quarantine is kept under such a tight watch and if isolation centres have such stringent security, why can’t the BMC ensure security for patients in hospitals? This is unacceptable.”

Ms. Pednekar, who visited Shatabdi Hospital on Tuesday, has ordered an inquiry and punishment in the matter. “It appears the private security agency was lax and failed to stop a patient going out. The ratio of patients to nurses in municipal hospitals is very high, it is not possible for them to keep track of all patients,” she said.

The body missing from Rajawadi Hospital has still not been found. “Who took it out of the morgue? The security agency’s role needs to be investigated there as well. We are probing the incident within hospital premises, while the police will investigate the rest,” she said.