Family alleges hospital not releasing body of COVID-19 victim

The relative of a person who died in a private hospital where he was admitted for COVID-19 treatment, accused the management of demanding money to release the body and keeping relatives hostage till p

The relative of a person who died in a private hospital where he was admitted for COVID-19 treatment, accused the management of demanding money to release the body and keeping relatives hostage till pending bills were cleared. Geetha, in her complaint to the R.R. Nagar police, said that her brother-in-law Laxminarayana was admitted to a hospital on R.R. Nagar-Kengeri Main Road on May 17. He passed away on May 27. The same day at 9 p.m., the complainant went to the hospital, accompanied by her relatives, to collect the body. Up to then, the family had paid ₹4.5 lakh to the hospital, but the management demanded ₹3.67 lakh more to release the body. When she expressed her inability to pay, she and her relatives were allegedly abused by the hospital staff. She claimed that they detained her and her other brother-in-law Vinay. The family has demanded action against the hospital and their intervention to facilitate release of the body.