In a shocking incident, an 82-year-old woman from Bhusaval, who was missing for eight days from a government hospital here, was found dead inside a toilet in the same hospital on Wednesday, police officers and her relatives said.
According to Akbar Patel, Senior Inspector at the Zillapeth police station, the Jalgaon Civil Hospital (JCH) authorities and the family had informed the police that she was missing on June 2.
"Thereafter, we made full inquiries in Bhusaval, checked all patient registers in the presence of the relatives, scanned CCTV footage etc. and then registered the complaint on June 6," Patel told IANS.
The woman had tested Covid-19 positive on May 27 and had been admitted to another hospital before she was shifted to the JCH, and police teams were sent there to investigate. The JCH authorities confirmed that she was seen in the ward till June 2 after which the whereabouts of the woman was not known.
"Finally, today, there was some foul smell emanating from one of the toilets in the hospital and we found the woman's body there. We have informed the family accordingly," Patel said.
In a video message, her distraught grandson has appealed to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to order a probe into the incident and punish those found negligent or guilty.
Second recorded case of a 'missing' Covid-19 patient
This is the second recorded case of a 'missing' Covid-19 patient found dead in the past three days, rattling the state health authorities.
On Tuesday, Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar ordered an inquiry after the body of an 80-year-old male Covid-19 patient, who went missing from the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Shatabdi Hospital in Kandivali on Sunday, was found near the Borivali station, apparently killed in a train mishap.
State BJP vice-president Kirit Somaiya has raised the issue and demanded a thorough probe into such incidents.
