‘Body swap’: Case against hospital, DNA profiling soon

With his relatives refusing to accept the body handed over to them after postmortem as that of Bhattacharya, who had committed suicide on April 12, the police have registered a case against the hospital.

The body of Bhattacharya (45) had been sent to the Bangur hospital on April 13 .

His family members created a ruckus at the hospital the next day alleging that the body had been swapped.

“We are confident that the body in question is not of my uncle. We are ready to go to any length to get the right body,” said Suman Bhattacharya, the victim’s nephew.

A DNA profiling of the body would be done for its identification, the police said.

“We are investigating the matter. We will question everyone, including the hospital authorities,” said Pravin Kumar, Superintendent of Police, South 24 Parganas.

“We are ready to cooperate with the police. We are sure that the body in question is of Bhattacharya. But his relatives are not willing to accept it. I told the police whatever I knew and also gave documents relating to the particular male body,” said Harekrishna Chandra, the hospital superintendent.

Bhattacharya’s body was found hanging in his room on the morning of April 13. He used to work in a factory and had lost his job a few months ago. He was going through financial problems and was suffering from depression, officers said.

He barely managed to make the two ends meet by running a tea stall in front of his Netajinagar house, they added.

Bhattacharya committed suicide when he was alone in his the house. His wife Jhuma had gone to her parents’ house in Azadgarh along with her daughter Aparna (6) to observe Neel Sashthi.

When they returned around 11 am on April 13, they found Bhattacharya’s body hanging from the ceiling fan of their bedroom.

The family members of Bhattacharya had lodged a complaint, stating that the body that was handed over to them was that of a burns victim whose face was charred beyond recognition.

They also alleged that the body was bulkier than that of Bhattacharya. The hospital authorities, however, ruled out a body swap.