Gold bangle stolen from dead Covid patient in CMCH

Coimbatore: An unidentified person has stolen a gold bangle weighing three sovereigns from the body of a Covid-19 patient, who died at the Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) on Monday evening.
The Race Course police identified the deceased as a 60-year-old woman from Ukkadam. A diabetic, she was taken to a private hospital with breathing difficulty on Monday morning. As hospital authorities asked the family members to pay an advance of Rs 40,000 to hospitalize her, the woman’s kin rushed her to CMCH, where she was admitted to the Covid-19 ward.
A police officer said, “Her daughter stayed back in the hospital to attend to her. The woman’s condition was steady till 3pm. Her breathing difficulties aggravated and she died around 4pm. When her daughter came out of the ward, an unidentified person stole the gold bangle from the body.”
The woman’s daughter informed ward doctors about the theft and the latter advised her to lodge a complaint with the Race Course police. The kin of the deceased subsequently approached police on Monday night.
“A similar incident had taken place in CMCH in the past and we have collected details of suspects. We will register a first information report and arrest the culprit,” the officer said.
The dead body was, meanwhile, handed over to the family members on Tuesday afternoon after postmortem. Dr P Kalidas, dean, CMCH, said he had ordered a detailed inquiry into the incident. “Stringent action will be taken against the guilty.”