Body ‘stolen’ from Ludhiana private hospital’s mortuary, handed to strangers for cremation while sons flew in from Canada.

Ludhiana: A private hospital in the city is facing a police investigation for "theft" after allegedly releasing the body of a 73-year-old woman to the wrong family, who reportedly cremated her before the mistake was realised.Police have launched a criminal probe against the hospital after a grieving family discovered their relative's body was missing from the mortuary, replaced by the corpse of a stranger. The incident has sparked outrage and protests at the Sarabha Nagar facility, with the victim's husband alleging a more sinister motive behind the administrative lapse.The DiscoveryJasvir Kaur Sandhu, 73, was admitted to Orison Super Specialty Hospital on Dec 10 for liver disease and passed away on Dec 19. Her husband, Jaswant Singh Sandhu, requested the hospital keep the body in the mortuary to allow their two sons time to travel from Canada and the United States for the funeral. The error came to light when the family returned to claim the body for the funeral. "The hospital staff had by then handed over the body of someone else," Sandhu said. "When I asked them to show the face, it turned out to be not my wife's." The family quickly realised that Jasvir Kaur's body had already been collected by another family and cremated subsequently.Jaswant Singh Sandhu said: "I suspect that with the connivance of the doctor staff, management staff, and clerical staff, the body of my wife has been stolen from the hospital. It is suspected that the organs of my wife have been removed and she has been cremated in a hurry." Allegations of Foul PlayThe victim's son, Balwinder Singh, who flew in from Canada, expressed disbelief that the other family could have cremated his mother without noticing the identity error. "I couldn't even see my mother's face one last time," he said. "We wanted to cremate her at our native village." Jaswant Singh Sandhu has filed a formal statement alleging that the "theft" of the body may have been a cover for the illegal removal and sale of organs — a claim the hospital denies strongly.Hospital and Police ResponsePolice have registered a case against the hospital management and staff under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including sections 305 (theft), 314 (dishonest misappropriation), and 316 (criminal breach of trust). "The matter is being probed," said Sarabha Nagar station house officer (SHO) Aditya Sharma. Dr Sunil Mittal, a radiologist at the hospital, defended the facility's protocols while acknowledging an internal investigation was in progress. "From our side, proper labeling is done," Dr Mittal said, explicitly refuting the allegations that the body or organs were sold.Another private hospital in Ludhiana has previously faced similar allegations. On Nov 11, the family of Joginder Singh was reportedly handed the body of a woman instead of their father. The error was discovered at home just before the funeral when a family member insisted on seeing the face. The hospital rectified the swap before cremation.