In a shocking case of alleged medical and administrative negligence, the Sarabha Nagar police in Ludhiana have escalated their investigation into a body-swapping incident at a private hospital on Barewal Road. Days after registering a case against unidentified staff, the police have now nominated four doctors, who also serve as directors of the hospital, in the First Information Report (FIR).
Directors Named as Principal Accused
Sub-inspector Aditya Sharma, the Station House Officer (SHO) of Sarabha Nagar police station, confirmed the significant development. The FIR, initially filed against unknown hospital staffers, has been amended to include the four directors as the main accused following a detailed probe. "During the course of the investigation, the police identified four directors of the hospital as the main accused and nominated them in the FIR," stated SHO Aditya Sharma. The case has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Institutional Failure and Concealment Alleged
The complaint was pushed forward by Jaswant Singh Sandhu of Moga, who approached Ludhiana Commissioner of Police Swapan Sharma demanding action against the hospital's directors. The complaint argues that the incident points to a severe institutional failure. It states that critical decisions regarding patient treatment, safety, post-death body handling, and the alleged suppression and manipulation of medical records cannot be executed by lower-level staff alone. Such actions, the complaint contends, require necessary approvals and permissions from the management, whose instructions are followed by staff.
Furthermore, the complaint highlights a critical obstruction: the hospital authorities are accused of deliberately refusing to provide CCTV footage to the victim's family. This refusal is seen as a clear intention to conceal evidence and obstruct justice, thereby strengthening the legal liability of the hospital's directors.
The Tragic Mix-Up and Its Aftermath
The case revolves around a heartbreaking mix-up involving the bodies of two deceased women: Jasbir Kaur from Moga and Manju Diwan from Tagore Nagar in Ludhiana. The hospital staff allegedly exchanged their bodies. As a result, the family of Manju Diwan performed the last rites and cremated a body they believed to be hers. The tragic error came to light days later when Jasbir Kaur's family received the body of another woman. By then, the Diwan family had already cremated what turned out to be Jasbir Kaur's body. The original body of Manju Diwan was later handed over to her family, but after the wrongful cremation.
This incident has raised serious questions about protocols, accountability, and patient dignity in private healthcare facilities. The police action against the top management indicates a shift towards holding decision-makers responsible for systemic lapses that lead to such grave errors, causing immense emotional distress to grieving families.
