Indian man, whose 'death' in hospital blast caused his wife to die by suicide, is alive

A man in the Indian state of Odisha, who was declared dead in a hospital blast, is alive. According to a report bynews agency IANS on Friday (Jan 5), Dillip Samantray- a mechanic with the Jagannath Refrigeration agency, and three of his colleagues were repairing the AC compressor of the Hi-Tech Medical College in Bhubaneswar on Dec 29 when the compressor went off suddenly.

As per the report, the compressor caught fire, and Samantray and his colleagues sustained severe injuries in the blast. They were admitted to the same hospital for treatment. A day later, hospital authorities announced that Samantray succumbed to his injuries.

Shocked by the news, Samantray's wife died by suicide on Jan 1.

However, the man was alive.

An identity mix-up

All the while, this was a case of an identity mix-up. Days after Samantray's death was announced, his family were informed that he was alive and the person they cremated was someone else. This shocking revelation came when a person, who was initially identified as Jyotiranjan Malik, regained consciousness and said he was Dillip Samantray.

Addressing a press conference, Smita Padhi, CEO of the private hospital, said that two more patients were undergoing treatment at the hospital and one of them was identified as Jyotiranjan Mallik.

"He was in critical condition and kept on a ventilator. Mallik's attendant, two others and his father and brother, used to visit him daily. Yesterday morning, when the patient's health condition improved, he was brought out of the ventilator and the treatment started. In the evening, when the doctor asked his name, the patient identified himself as Dillip Samantray," Padhi said.

"The doctor immediately informed psychiatrist Amrit Pattojoshi, who checked him in the presence of family members. The person answered all the questions asked in connection with Dillip's family and in-laws rightly," she added.

Samantray's family accuse the hospital for the negligence. However, the hospital authoritiesblamethe family for the mistaken identity.

On the other hand, the father of the deceased Jyoti said that he could not identify his son as his face had burn injuries and was wrapped in bandages. IANS reported that family members of Malik organised a dharna before the hospital demanding to take his body.

Cong demands high-level enquiry

Congress leader Nishikant Mishra demanded a high-level enquiry into the incident. "We need a high-level enquiry as to how a living person was declared dead and cremated in the knowledge of Hi-Tech medical authorities and the police. The person who is now identified as Dillip is in critical condition and we fear that he may be killed in connivance with hospital authorities and police to suppress the protest," Mishra said.

(With inputs from agencies)