Days after a woman tragically took her own life, traumatized by the reported untimely death of her husband in an air-conditioner compressor blast on a medical college campus here, shocking revelations emerged. The deceased husband was actually alive all along, as a result of grave errors in identifying the body.
The goof-ups not only led to chaos and the woman’s suicide but also denied the family of the wrongly identified man the chance to bid a proper farewell.
The incident revolved around a blast that occurred during the repair of air conditioners at HiTech Medical College Hospital on December 29 last year. The explosion resulted in severe burn injuries for four individuals, with the fireball reaching a height of 100 ft.
Amidst the ensuing chaos, the four victims – Dillip Samantray, Jyoti Ranjan Mallick, Simanchal Biswal, and Sritam Mohanty – were promptly admitted to the hospital and later transferred to the intensive care unit. While Mr. Biswal and Mr. Mohanty were initially declared out of danger, the latter unfortunately lost both of his legs. Samantray and Mallick remained in the ICU.
Tragically, on December 31 last year, Samantray, one of the accident victims, succumbed to his injuries during treatment. His body was handed over to his family and cremated in Baanta village in Delanga area of Puri district. Struggling to accept the news of her husband’s demise, Soumyashree Jena, seven months pregnant, took her own life by hanging on January 1.
Meanwhile, the family of Mallick, the other critically injured individual, closely monitored his treatment as he remained on a ventilator for over a week.
Thursday brought a whirlwind of confusion as the man extubated from a ventilator identified himself as Samantray, whose last rites had already been performed. The family members of Mallick, who had attended to the injured person believing him to be their son, found themselves in an unimaginable situation.
To address the unfolding crisis, authorities from HiTech Medical College held a press conference to provide clarity here on Friday. Smita Padhi, Chief Executive Officer of HiTech Medical College, stated, “It is an unfortunate situation. The man, upon extubating, self-identified as Dillip Samantray. Suspecting possible delusion due to high doses of medication, we had him examined by our psychiatric specialist. The man answered every question about Samantray. We have informed the police as well as family members.”
The shocking revelation now confirms that the man wrongly cremated was Mallick, prompting his family members to demand accountability for the errors. Upon learning that her son, Samantray, is indeed alive, the mother rushed to the hospital.
Bhubaneswar Deputy Commissioner of Police Prateek Singh assured that an inquiry would be launched to determine how the deceased was admitted to the hospital, who provided his details initially, and the procedural aspects involving the police.
