Twist In Hi-Tech Hospital Explosion Case: Patient Declared Dead On Dec 30 Found ‘Alive’

Bhubaneswar: In an unexpected turn of events in the Hi-Tech Hospital explosion case in Odisha capital, a patient, who was on ventilator, identified himself as Dilip Samantaray, who was earlier declared dead in the mishap.

This patient was being treated at the hospital under the name of Jyotiranjan Mallik.

Speaking to the media, Hi-Tech Hospital CEO Dr Smita Pandhi said that the four person injured in the explosion were staff of an outsource agency, which had identified them during admission to the hospital and accordingly the records were maintained. “One among them, whom they had identified as Dilip Samantaray, succumbed to burns on December 30. His relatives also identified the body and after due police procedure, it was handed over to the family,” she said.

The CEO further said that two of the injured are currently under treatment at the hospital and as per the records, they are Simanchal and Jyoti Mallik, who was taken off the ventilator on Thursday. “During the evening rounds, when doctors enquired about his health and asked for his name, he identified himself as Dilip. However, the person, who was attending to him as his father, claimed that he is Jyoti on the basis of an identification mark on his leg,” she said.

The hospital authorities then called the family members of the two, but they couldn’t resolve the issue. “Eventually, we lodged a complaint with Mancheswar police,” she added.

The hospital authorities added that a DNA test will be conducted to clear the confusion. “The patient correctly mentioned all details about Dilip Samantaray, a native of Harirajpur in Jatni, in presence of his family members. As a doctor, I am 90 per cent sure that he is Dilip Samantaray. If required, DNA analysis will be done,” said psychiatrist Amrit Pattojoshi, who conducted the psychometric evaluation of the patient.

He added that the body handed over Dilip Samantaray’s family had sustained 95 percent burnt and the face was abnormally swollen. “Identifying him was not possible. But his family members were overly emotional. They might have mistaken the body as Dilip,” he added.

Dilip’s nephew Manoj Samantray said that the body handed over to them on December 31 was charred beyond recognition and completely covered in polythene. “As the hospital gave it to us saying he was Dilip, we believed them and performed his last rites. But my uncle is alive and doing well,” he added.

Ironically, a day after the hospital authorities declared Dilip Samantaray as dead, his wife allegedly died by suicide. The woman had reportedly gone into depression as her husband was battling for his life in the hospital and was found hanging from a ceiling fan at her father’s house in Gandhi Nagar area under Jatni police limits on December 31.

An employee of the AC repair agency, however, said that he had never identified them individually. “It was utter chaos back then when the blast occurred. I just mentioned names of the injured to the hospital authorities. Even my mental condition was not right at that time,” said Sanjay Sahu.

Bhubaneswar DCP Prateek Singh said that the treatment of those injured was carried out based on the identification given by the contractor. “So far, no allegation of medical negligence has been made. An ADCP of Mancheswar police station is leading the probe. Action will be taken if there is any negligence,” he added.

The mishap had taken place on December 29 evening when the AC compressor on the top floor of private medical college-cum-hospital exploded as four workers were filling gas. This led to a fire, causing burn injuries to them. One more patient, identified as Sritam Sahu (23) of Chainpur village in Delang area of Puri district, had succumbed to burns on January 2.