Bhubaneswar, Jan 5 (PTI) A man who was thought to have succumbed to burn injuries in Odisha, following which his wife died by suicide out of grief, was found to be alive and under treatment, officials of the hospital concerned said on Friday.

The body of the man who actually died had been handed over to the family of the person alive and it was cremated. Now, the deceased's family is demanding his body.

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The doctors said the confusion was because the persons' faces were beyond recognition due to a blast that occurred while servicing an air-conditioner late last month.

Four people, including Dilip Samantray and Jyoti Ranjan Mallik, were admitted to Hi-Tech Hospital here after being severely injured in an explosion that occurred while filling gas in an air-condition at the rooftop of the same medical establishment on December 29.

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Of the four, two persons succumbed to burn injuries while two others were undergoing treatment at the hospital. All the four persons had suffered severe burn injuries and their faces were beyond recognition, the officials said.

Samantray was initially identified as among the two deceased. The body was cremated and his wife later died by suicide out of grief.

However, on Thursday evening, the person who was undergoing treatment in the name of Jyoti Ranjan Mallik, was brought out of the ventilator and he responded. During interaction with doctors, he claimed to be Samantary, and not Mallik.

Hospital CEO Smita Padhi 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 person identified as Dilip Samantray died during treatment on December 30 and as per protocol, we informed the police and his family members also signed the documents concerned and received the body from the police," she said.

However, after the confusion came to the fore with the person undergoing treatment claiming to be Samantray, psychiatrist Amrit Pattojoshi was assigned to examine the mental condition of the patient. On being asked about the names of Samantray's family members, the patient answered correctly, Padhi said.

"Since the matter could not be resolved, we urged the police to investigate the matter," she added.

Psychiatrist Amrit Pattojoshi said, "The patient correctly told us details about Samantray. Family members of both the persons were present at that time. As a doctor, I am 90 per cent sure that the patient is Dilip Samantray. If required, DNA analysis will be done.

On the other hand, Mallik's family members, who were hopeful of his recovery, are now demanding his body. But the hospital authorities have handed over his body to the family of Samantray and it has been cremated.

The doctors said the confusion was because the persons' faces were beyond recognition due to the blast.

Bhubaneswar DCP Prateek Singh 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 they were identified by the contractor," he added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)