Bhubaneswar: Tension prevailed at Hi-tech Medical College and Hospital in Bhubaneswar Saturday as the death toll in AC Compressor explosion that took place at the hospital rose to three following the death of the victim, who claimed to be ‘Dilip Samantaray’ after being taken off the ventilator, leading to an identity ‘goof-up’.
As per the hospital authorities, Dilip breathed his last around 3:30am of Saturday.
Meanwhile, Dilip’s mother Ahalya Samantaray accused the hospital of a cover-up.
“They killed my son. I rushed to the hospital after hearing that my son was alive. He was stable till 1am and also spoke to me. Around 2am, they said his condition deteriorated and an hour later they declared that he was no more,” she added.
The uproar erupted after authorities at Bhubaneswar’s Hi-Tech hospital Friday announced that the man who succumbed to burn injuries December 30 was Jyoti Ranjan Mallik and not Dilip Samantaray as believed earlier and Dilip is still alive.
According to the hospital, the man receiving medical treatment, earlier thought to be Jyotiranjan Mallik, regained consciousness and identified himself as ‘Dilip’.
It can be mentioned here that unable to bear the shock of Dilip’s ‘death’, his wife Soumyashri Jena had reportedly died by suicide at her parent’s house January 1, 2024.
Following the shocking revelation by the hospital, the kin of the victims staged an agitation on the hospital premises Friday protesting the identity mix-up.
Meanwhile, Jyotiranjan Mallik’s family members, who were hopeful of his recovery, demanded his body.
However, the hospital authorities had handed over his body to the family of Dilip and it has been cremated since December 31, 2023. Doctors had said the confusion was because the men’s faces were beyond recognition due to the blast.
Afterwards, Bhubaneswar DCP Prateek Singh Friday had said, “An ACP rank officer will investigate the matter. So far, we have not received any case of medical negligence. Action will be taken if negligence is found. The four persons were critically injured and the contractor identified them,” he added.
On the other hand, the hospital blamed the family for the mistaken identity and offered to conduct a DNA test.
Hospital CEO Smita Padhi Friday had said, “The four persons who were injured in the incident were staffers of an outsourcing agency; not regular employees of the hospital. After the blast, a staffer of the agency identified them, on the basis of which, we maintained the records. The kin of the victims also identified them.”
The bizarre case of identity mix-up also garnered political reaction as BJP asked the state government to initiate criminal proceedings against the hospital authorities for the goof-up and announce a compensation of Rs1 crore for the aggrieved families. Congress leader Nishikant Mishra also called for a high-level inquiry into the incident and demanded clarity on how a living person was mistakenly declared dead and subsequently cremated.
Timeline of misidentification fiasco
December 29, 2023: Dilip Samantaray along with Simanchal Biswal, Sritam Sahoo and Jyoti Ranjan Mallik were repairing the AC compressor kept on the roof of Hi-Tech Medical College and Hospital Friday evening when the compressor went off suddenly.
December 30, 2023: Dilip Samantaray was declared dead.
January 1, 2024: Dilip’s wife died by suicide.
January 2, 2024: One of the victims of the mishap, identified as Sritam Sahu (23) from Chainpur village in Delang area of Puri district, succumbed to burn injuries.
January 5, 2023: The hospital said a patient earlier thought to be Jyoti Ranjan Mallik claimed himself as Dilip Samantaray.
January 6, 2023: The man identifying himself as Dilip Samantaray died.
PNN