Search for missing Covid-19 victim ends in morgue

Surat: That it ended on International Workers’ Day, added irony to the morbid tale. Migrant worker Sanjay Tiwari’s search for his father Maharanidin (65) ended at a morgue on Saturday. Maharanidin (65) had died 18 days ago at the state-run Covid-19 hospital in New Civil Hospital (NCH). But the hospital staff failed to inform the son about his father’s death.
Tiwari was inquiring for his father since Tuesday but did not receive any information until TOI took up the issue with the top NCH administration. Later, Tiwari cremated his father at Ramnath Ghela Crematorium in Umra on Saturday. Tiwari, who hails from Prayagraj, lived with his father in Godadara. His other family members live at their native place in Uttar Pradesh.
“The hospital administration had lost my father’s case papers due to which they were neither able to confirm his death or locate him. He died on April 12 but I was not informed,” Tiwari told TOI.
Maharanidin, a security guard in a high-rise building in Bhatar, was admitted to NCH on April 9 after he tested positive for Covid-19. Until April 12, when Tiwari tested positive, he visited the hospital and inquired about his father at the helpdesk.
Tiwari was under home quarantine till Tuesday. “I used to inquire over the phone and those at the help-desk told me that my father’s health is normal,” said Tiwari.
Since Tuesday, the helpdesk staff could not give a satisfactory reply about location of Tiwari’s father. They also asked Tiwari to go to the police. Tiwari works at textile unit of the city.
Body of Maharanidin was kept in a morgue at NCH and since the case papers were missing the body was considered as that an unidentified person.
“On coming to know about the missing patient through the TOI report, I ordered senior officials to track and find him immediately. Unfortunately, the patient had died and due to the poor maintenance of the case record his son had to suffer,” said Dr Ragini Verma, medical superintendent, NCH.