COVID death: Mix-up at hospital sees Muslim family bury Hindu man in Tamil Nadu

CUDDALORE: In a grave mix-up, staff of the Cuddalore government hospital handed over bodies of two COVID-19 victims, who died on the same night, to the wrong families. One of the families unknowingly buried the body of the Hindu victim as per its Islamic rituals. 

According to sources, Zaheer Hussain (59) of Perumathur village near Bhuvanagiri in Cuddalore was undergoing treatment for Covid at the government hospital. He died on Tuesday night and his body was kept at the mortuary. Meanwhile, Arumugam (51) of Puthupettai near Panruti, who was being treated in the same ward also died that night. 

On Wednesday morning, relatives of Zaheer Hussain and Arumugam collected the bodies and left for their respective villages. While Hussain's family buried the body they received at the Muslim cemetery at Perumathur with safety measures and as per their religious customs, relatives of Arumugam found that the body they had received were not his. Immediately, they took the body back to the hospital. Only then did the staff realise that there had been a mix-up. 

Hussain's relatives were informed that they had buried the mortal remains of Arumugam. However, villagers there were opposed to exhuming Arumugam's body. Finally after talks with revenue officials, the villagers agreed to the exhumation and on Wednesday evening, the mortal remains of Arumugam were dug out with the help of a pockline machine and handed over to his relatives. Hussain's body was handed over to his family, who once again performed the burial rituals as per their religious beliefs. 

However, a health department official in Cuddalore added that an inquiry is on.