A body of a migrant labourer sent for COVID-19 testing has gone ‘missing’ from Vashi General Hospital morgue.
According to Mumbai Mirror, 29-year-old man Umar Farooque Shaikh, who hailed from West Bengal, was suffering from pneumonia and was found dead at his home in Ulwe on May 9. It is said Shaikh was sharing the room with his friends.
The police were informed and his corpse was immediately takes to Vashi general hospital for Covid-19 test. The relatives were informed about the same.
On May 14, Shaikh’s relatives were told that he had tested negative and they could collect the corpse from the hospital for last rites. On May 15, when his friends and relative went to the hospital, they were made to wait for a whole day. The hospital staff later informed them that Shaikh’s body was not at the hospital.
The family approached the police for help, but did not receive any positive response from the officials. Shaikh’s body has not be traced yet. And the hospital has no answer for this.
Vashi police which is carrying out the investigation said that there are no major developments so far. "We have not reached any conclusion as the investigation is still underway", said Sanjay Dhumal, senior PI Vashi police station.
On Sunday, Maharashtra recorded highest single-day spike of 2,347 COVID-19 cases and 63 deaths, which included 38 from Mumbai, which remains one of the state’s worst-hit city. The total count of Maharastra stands at 33,053 and the number of fatalities at 1,198.
(Inputs from Amit Srivastava)
