CUTTACK: A family in Cuttack district cremated the body of a man from Rajasthan on Monday evening presuming it to be of their relative after the bodies got swapped inadvertently by a courier agency from Mumbai.
Family members of deceased Bilash Bhuyan (42), a native of Kuansala village under Nemal police station in Cuttack district, conducted the funeral of a Rajasthan man presuming it to be that of their kin.
Sources said the body was swollen and had turned black, while there was gulal all over the face but somehow it resembled that of Bilash. The identity of the deceased man from Rajasthan was not available with local police.
Bilash, who was working in a private motor showroom in Mumbai, passed away following brief illness a week ago. The matter came to light after the family in Rajasthan found that the body they received through the courier service was not of their relative and filed a complaint with Mumbai police.
Subsequently, Nemala police informed the Kuansala family that the body they cremated was not of Bilash but that of someone from Rajasthan.
During investigation, it came to light that the bodies got swapped by the courier company with different addresses while taking them on flights. While the body of Bilash was sent to Jaipur in Rajasthan, the body of the man from the western state was delivered in Cuttack.
Bimal Barik, sub-divisional police officer (SDPO), Salipur, said, "The exchange of bodies occurred due to a mistake by a courier service as per the information of the family members.
He said the family from Rajasthan was on its way to Cuttack to collect the mortal remains of their relative. They are also bringing Bilash's body with them, who will be cremated in Kuansala. "The final rites were carried out but to the shock of the family members the body was not of Bilash," said Sarat Kumar Mallick, a resident of Kuansala.
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