Bodies marked as unclaimed, some cremated before informing family

With the citys COVID19 mortality rate on the rise families losing their loved ones to the infection are facing a harrowing time in getting possession of their bodies Reasons the bodies are either getting misplaced or some are being cremated after being declared unclaimed Also in certain cases the familes are not being informed of the patients deaths midday spoke to a number of such families to know their experiencesTwentynineyearold Mehraj Izaz Ahmed Sheikh a resident of Deonar was stabbed by goons on the night of June 3 after which he was rushed to the Rajawadi Hospital However he was declared dead on arrival His elder brother Siraj Sheikh said Doctors at the casualty ward told us they had to conduct a COVID19 test on Mehraj before handing over the body We agreed and waited for a day for the reportsSudhakar KhadeOn June 5 the hospital authorities told the family that the report was positive and Mehrajs body would be cremated on June 6 When the family expressed their wish to see him for the last time the authorities asked them to be at the mortuary the following day My brotherinlaw and a couple of friends went to the mortuary at 11 am and till 730 pm they couldnt find the body Finally after they informed the cops the authorities said that they would find the body and hand it over in the next two days added SirajMehrajs mother Noor Jahan said We couldnt see him even for once after the attack The Tilak Nagar police have filed a case in the matter but will we be able to see him again They had said that they would hand over the body in two days but its been more than four days nowRakesh VermaBody goes missingAfter 70yearold Kalachowky resident Sudhakar Khade developed symptoms of the COVID19 infection his soninlaw Ankush Jadhav admitted her to KEM Hospital on May 14 They had been getting updates on his health till May 19 but after that the doctors suddenly stopped informing them Ankush rushed to the hospital but did not get any update and filed a missing report at Bhoiwada police stationWe checked the entire hospital but couldnt find him The cops filed a missing report and started checking the CCTV footages of the hospital wards Some said the civic body might have cremated him thinking that it was an unclaimed body said Ankush However almost after four days it was found that Sudhakar had succumbed to the infection and his body was lying in the mortuary He was then cremated on June 2 in the presence of his familyFrom one hospital to anotherSixtyyearold Zantidevi Sharmas body would have been cremated as an unclaimed one if her grandson had not intervened at the right time On June 2 Kandivli resident Zantidevi was admitted to the COVID care centre at MMRDA grounds BKC In the evening when her grandson Sandeep Sharma enquired about her condition the authorities concerned said she had been shifted to the NSCI COVID care centre in Worli He then went to Worli where he got to know that the admission process was onSandeep said I waited at the NSCI centre till 9 pm but did not get any information about my grandmother When I went back on June 4 a doctor at the counter said there was no patient of my grandmothers name admitted thereOn checking the records at the BKC COVID centre when he did not find her details he approached the BKC police station to file a missing complaint That is when he got a call from the Worli centre informing him that Zantidevi had been shifted to Sion HospitalAfter reaching Sion Hospital he got to know that his grandmother was not admitted there But after he informed the NSCI centre the hospital authorities said that she was admitted in ward number six Later when he couldnt find her in the ward he was asked to check the mortuary when he got to know that she died at 930 am on June 3 and her body had been handed over to the police Then he immediately reached the Kandivli cremation ground and performed the last ritesSpeaking to midday he said My grandmother was an Uttar Pradesh resident She was suffering from breathing difficulties which is why we came to Mumbai in January for her treatment She had almost recovered but on June 2 she again developed breathing problems As no beds were available in Shatabdi and Cooper hospitals she was admitted to the BKC COVID care centre Though all her information was provided at the time of admission yet her body was handed over to the police as an unclaimed one Some of her reports have been given to me but they have no mention of a COVID19 test I think the hospital has not conducted itNot informed of deathWadala resident Rakesh Verma 41 a COVID19 patient was cremated even before his family got to know about his death After he developed fever early last month Rakesh got tested for the infection at a private lab His report came positive and he was admitted to the Trauma Hospital in JogeshwariRakeshs wife Subhashini Verma said on May 11 BMC officials visited them and said they would be taken to a quarantine centre as they had a positive patient in the house After being in quarantine for 10 days Rakeshs family visited Trauma Hospital on May 21 when they got to know that he was not admitted thereSubhashini immediately approached the Wadala police and filed a missing complaint The next day the cops informed them that Rakesh had succumbed to the infectionSpeaking to midday she said When I checked with the BMC officials about his health they said he was undergoing treatment but he had died There is no other earning member in the house My daughter is a special child and son studies in school Even his mother is 62 years old How will we run the familyCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest newsSudhakar Khade