Bodies swapped at private hospital in Delhi, Christian woman cremated by Hindu family

NEW DELHI: A private hospital in southwest Delhi’s Dwarka committed a grave error by handing over the body of a Christian woman to the family of a Covid-positive Hindu woman. The 69-year-old woman, Garikapati Parisuddam, was not infected with the novel coronavirus and had passed away on Monday morning.
On Tuesday, when her kin went to claim the body, they were informed that it had been handed over to the Hindu family, who had even cremated her. The body had been preserved in the hospital mortuary as the family was waiting for her daughter and other relatives to arrive from south India.
When Parisuddam fell ill early on Monday, her son, Manohar G, rushed her to Manipal Hospital in Dwarka where she was declared brought dead.
Manohar told TOI, “My mother collapsed while trying to go to the bathroom. She was declared brought dead at the hospital. Since our relatives are in south India and wanted to pay their last respects to my mother, I asked the hospital to keep her body in the mortuary. When I went to the hospital on Tuesday afternoon, I was first made to wait and then shown the body of another woman.”
An hour later, the hospital authorities told Manohar that his mother’s body had been handed over to another family, who had cremated her. “The most shocking part was that there were only three bodies in the mortuary, two women and a man. Two of them were Covid patients. My mother was the only non-Covid patient. I still can’t understand how the bodies were not tagged properly,” he said.
“The hospital told us that the Hindu family had identified the body. But when we met them, they said the hospital did not let them identify and just handed over the body. Though my mother was cremated with full respects, sadly I won’t be able to get closure,” added Manohar.
The family was even more disturbed by the callous attitude of the hospital authorities, who first delayed sharing the correct information and, later, did not even sympathise with them. “The hospital authorities need to be held accountable for what they have done. My mother was a priester and there were many sentiments associated with her. Eleven of our relatives flew down to see her, but could not even get a glimpse. I have lodged a police complaint against the hospital,” Manohar said.
TOI reached out to the Hindu family, but they refused to comment or reveal their identity.
A senior official from Manipal Hospital said, “We have informed the police and are cooperating in the investigation. We are also in touch with both the families.”