LAHAN, Jan 27: A serious case of body mix-up at the Ram Kumar Sarda Uma Prasad Murarka Provincial Hospital in Lahan has come to light after a deceased girl’s body was mistakenly handed over to another family. Following the revelation, the victim’s family and relatives blocked the Golbazar section of the East–West Highway on Monday, demanding the return of the body and action against hospital officials.
The protest began around 1 pm, with the family of Nisha demanding the hospital return her body and take action against Medical Superintendent Dr Ranjit Jha and Hospital Management Committee Chair Ram Narayan Mehta.
Nisha, around 16, daughter of Purna Bahadur Bania of Golbazar Municipality-3, Jamdaha, Siraha, was found dead at her home on Saturday. After completing legal procedures, the Area Police Office, Golbazar, sent her body to the provincial hospital in Lahan for a post-mortem examination.
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On the same day, the body of another 16-year-old girl, Radhika Sah of Khadak Municipality-1, Kararbona, Saptari, was also brought to the hospital mortuary for post-mortem. After the examination, one body was released from the mortuary and handed over to Radhika’s relatives, who cremated it on the banks of the Balan River near Lahan without taking it home.
Nisha’s parents were in Mumbai for foreign employment at the time of her death. After receiving the news, they returned to Nepal and reached the hospital on Monday morning. When they arrived at the hospital around 1 pm to complete post-mortem procedures and saw the body, they said it was not their daughter’s. It was later confirmed that the body was of Radhika Sah, exposing negligence on the hospital’s part.
Initially, Medical Superintendent Dr Ranjit Jha claimed that Nisha’s family had already received the body and only later alleged it was not theirs. However, after the parents clarified that they had arrived from Mumbai only on Monday and had come straight to the hospital, Dr Jha revised his statement.
He said the hospital’s responsibility was limited to conducting the post-mortem, while handing over the body was the police’s responsibility. He also admitted that there is a provision for “coding” bodies in the mortuary to avoid such errors, but said the hospital does not follow this practice, despite acknowledging it as ethical.
Hospital Management Committee Chair Ram Narayan Mehta also said the hospital does not practice body coding and claimed there were shortcomings from the receiving side as well. “We accept negligence in this incident,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Area Police Office, Lahan, has taken two relatives of Radhika Sah into custody. Siraha Police spokesperson DSP Ramesh Bahadur Pal said further action would be taken after a detailed investigation.
