Swapping of two bodies causes inconvenience and delay in last rites
Balasore, Aug 18 (UNI) The bodies of two deceased persons from different states were mistakenly swapped, causing serious inconvenience and emotional distress to their families, leading to a delay in the last rites.
According to reports, the remains of Rakesh Shaw, a resident of Mulising village under Soro Block in Odisha, and Raju Adhikari, a resident of Siliguri in West Bengal, were dispatched in separate coffins from a hospital in Bengaluru.
The coffins, each bearing the names of the deceased, were flown on the same flight from Bengaluru to Bhubaneswar.
Shaw’s family collected the coffin from the airport and brought it to their native village for the funeral. However, to their shock, upon opening the coffin, they discovered the body of another person. It was later identified as the body of Adhikari.
Realizing the mistake, Shaw’s family immediately informed the local police. Around the same time, Adhikari’s family, upon opening their coffin, also found a different body and halted their journey back to Siliguri.
The families later exchanged the bodies near Krishnanagar, after which Shaw’s mortal remains were taken to Soro for the final rites.
Rakesh Shaw, a software engineer working with a private company in Bengaluru, had sustained severe burns after coming in contact with a live electric wire on a rooftop. He succumbed to his injuries on August 15 while undergoing treatment.
Dillip Shaw, a cousin of Rakesh, said, “Since both the bodies (Rakesh and Raju) were dispatched in coffins by the hospital authorities, it is most likely that the mistake occurred at the hospital during the labeling process.”
“On Rakesh’s coffin, the sticker of Raju was pasted, and vice versa. We realized the mix-up only when the coffin was opened before taking the body for cremation at Puri Swargadwar,” he added.
