Hyderabad: A hospital staffer stole the gold mangalsutra of a patient who came for a brain tumour operation at the Kamala Hospital in Dilsukhnagar on Monday. Coming to know of the theft the hospital management called the cops and afraid of consequences the thief kept the chain under the patient’s bed and fled.
The patient, Vijayalakshmi, later died. “The incident took place on Monday morning. The management called us to look into the matter and we identified three suspects,” said the investigating officer detective sub inspector N. Shivakumar. “As the interrogation was in progress one of the patient's relatives found the chain under the patient’s bed,” added the DSI.
The hospital had CCTV cameras only at the entrance and near ICU wards. “We have returned the property to the owner and are trying to track down the culprit,” Mr Shivakumar said.
Family refused to claim body
Vijayalakshmi's relatives told the hospital management that they will wait for the cops to find the chain and will not claim the body until then as it’s against their tradition. “We just wanted the chain. It was never about the money or compensation,” said a relative.
Doctors at Kamala Hospital stated that the patient was sent for a CT scan to a diagnostic centre nearby and they were not aware if the mangalsutra was removed by the family or the staff.
A senior doctor of the hospital on condition of anonymity said, “The paramedics told the relatives to remove the chain but whether the family removed it or the staff removed it is not known. We called all our staff and questioned them. We also told them that we will cooperate with the police during the investigation as it was not in the interests of the hospital too.”
The management and the relatives calmed down after discovering the gold chain under the patient’s bed. The body of the patient was later shifted from hospital by the family.
