Murdered man cremated as Covid-19 victim in Faridabad
Gurugram:
The body of a 28-year-old man, who was allegedly murdered three days ago, was cremated by the Faridabad municipal workers who were handed over the body by the hospital staff, mistaking it of a Covid-19 patient, said police on Monday.
KK Rao, commissioner of police, Faridabad, said that the man was murdered and his five relatives were seriously injured after they were allegedly attacked with iron rods, sticks and knives by a group in Subhash Colony of Ballabhgarh on Friday evening.
According to the police, the deceased, identified as Sonu Khan, was rushed to a government hospital in Faridabad, where doctors declared him brought dead and his body was kept in the mortuary for postmortem.
The next day when the deceased’s family members reached the mortuary, they found the body missing, said the police.
“The family members have complained against the hospital staff for their alleged involvement in accidentally cremating the body of Khan. They are suspecting that the accused party had conspired with hospital staff and have demanded action against them,” said Rao.
A case under sections 166 (whoever, being a public servant, knowingly disobeys any direction of the law), 166A (government official disobeying law) and 201 ( destroying evidence) of Indian Penal Code against the hospital staff and principal medical officer at Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Nagar police station on Saturday, the police said.
Rao said they have handed over the investigation to crime investigation agency on Sunday and have asked to submit the report within 15 days.
Raju Khan, brother of the deceased, said that his brother was stabbed to death by a rival group. He further said that the body was disappeared from the mortuary overnight. “When we reached the mortuary with investigating officer, initially they tried to mislead us and later informed us that they have cremated the body after being mistaken for Covid-19 death and started apologizing. The hospital staff told us that officials of the health department had taken the body for cremation,” he said.
The police said that the body was mistaken for that of a coronavirus patient and handed over to the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF) for cremation on Saturday morning. “We are conducting further investigations to confirm this,” said Rao.
Yashpal Yadav, deputy commissioner, Faridabad, said that if any doctor or medical staff are found involved in the incident, strict action will be taken against them. “We are conducting investigation. The case has been handed over to the crime agency to investigate if any foul play is there in it,” he said.
Notably, MCF comes under the office of deputy commissioner.
Meanwhile, the police arrested four men in connection with the murder of Sonu on Saturday, said Rao.