A homeless Indian man who was pronounced dead woke up on an autopsy table, giving the hospital staff, who were prepping to perform the autopsy, the shock of their lives, a report on Tuesday stated. Mumbai Police said they found the man, who is still unnamed, unconscious and suffering from multiple infections on Sunday morning and took him to the local hospital.
A doctor at the Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital confirmed the man as dead and sent the body for autopsy, Ashok Dudhe, Mumbai Police deputy commissioner told AFP. "As the autopsy was about to start, the man awoke prompting chaos which made the doctors rush to the room. They then snatched the death certificate from my staff and tore it to pieces," Dudhe said.
Hospital dean Dr. Suleman Merchant expressed his disappointment towards the police who apparently forced the error by asking doctors to examine the man on the road outside the hospital instead of bringing him inside the medical facility. He related that the police were busy with security preparations for the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit and that it could have been the reason they didn't bother bringing the body inside the hospital. The event could have been prevented if the police allowed the medical practitioners to attend to the man in the hospital and perform proper examination.
The still unidentified man is being treated at the moment in the hospital for severe malnutrition, suspected alcoholism and substance abuse, the dean said. "He is still delirious and we are trying to stabilize him. Let's hope the damage from his past can be addressed," he added.
However, police officer Dudhe begs to differ and said the accusation made by the dean was "ridiculous." The hospital was covering up negligence on their part, and that's why they are placing the blame on the police. He added that the police have concluded an internal investigation of the incident and the report has been filed at the commissioner's office.
