Bhubaneswar :Four days after his seven-month pregnant wife died by suicide after being told about his death, an air-conditioner mechanic in Odisha believed to have died in last week’s accident at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar is alive and under treatment at the hospital’s intensive care unit, the hospital said on Friday.

Authorities at Bhubaneswar’s Hi Tech medical college and hospital on Friday said that the man who succumbed to burn injuries on December 31 was Jyoti Ranjan Mallik and not Dilip Samantray as believed earlier.

Dilip Samantray’s mother Ahalya said they were happy that her son was alive but the news had come too late for his wife Soumyashree Jena. On January 1, Dilip’s wife, who was seven months pregnant with their first child, hanged herself after learning of her husband’s death. “Had the hospital authorities been careful, my daughter-in-law would have been alive today,” Ahalya said.

Jyoti Ranjan Malik’s father said he could not see his son one last time because he was cremated by Dilip Samantray’s family. “The hospital authorities are responsible for whatever happened. I will not spare them,” he said.

Smita Padhi, chief executive officer of the hospital, said they had gone by the information provided by staffers of the outsourced agency.

She said four persons, Seemanchal Biswal, Sritam Sahu, Jyotiranjan Mallik and Dilip Samantray, were injured in the compressor blast. Of them, Jyoti Ranjan Malik and Sritam Sahu (he died on Wednesday) have died so far.

“After the blast, a staffer of the outsourced agency identified all the four injured. When one of the injured patient died on December 31, we were told by their employee that he was Dilip Samantray. Following the procedure, we informed the police. The father of the deceased identified the body as that of Dilip Samantray and signed the inquest form,” said Padhi.

On Thursday evening, the condition of one of the patients – he was earlier identified as Jyoti Malik – improved and he was taken off the ventilator. He identified himself as Dilip Samantray.

The ICU doctors promptly called psychiatrist Amrit Pattojoshi for an evaluation. The patient gave all the right answers. Someone called Dilip Samantray’s family that had been mourning his death. “He even recognised his nephew,” said Padhi. “We now know that the man who has died was Jyoti Ranjan Mallik.”

Psychiatrist Amrit Pattajoshi who conducted the psychometric evaluation on Thursday, said it was impossible to recognise Jyoti Ranjan Malik’s body which had sustained 95% burns. “The face was abnormally swollen. Identifying him was not possible,” he said.

Sanjay Sahu, the air conditioner agency’s staffer alleged to have identified the injured, said he knew three of them, not the fourth one. “I never identified them individually. It was utter chaos when the blast occurred. I just told the hospital authorities their names. I did not tell them who was who,” he said, underlining that even he was not in a state to identify them at the time.

Ahalya Samantray said when the hospital handed over the body to them on December 31, it was wrapped in polythene. “The body was charred beyond recognition. As the hospital gave it to us saying he was Dilip, so we believed them and performed his last rites. My daughter-in-law who was 7 months pregnant became delirious and two days later, she hanged herself in her father’s home. For the last 7 days, we have been observing all funeral rituals at home. Had the hospital authorities been careful, my daughter-in-law would have been alive today,” she said.

Jyoti Ranjan Mallick said they also thought that Dilip Samantray was his son because when his son-in-law earlier addressed him by his nickname, one patient responded. “The patient also responded when a doctor called him ‘Jyoti’. Later, we (family members) went to the hospital. As I went near the patient and addressed him as ‘Dipuna’, he said he was ‘Dilip’. I searched for birthmarks on his body to confirm but couldn’t find any. I was sure that the person was not my son after the ventilator was taken off and his face was visible,” said Jyoti’s father. “I could not even see my son for one last time. The hospital authorities are responsible for whatever happened. I will not spare them.”

The hospital authorities said they will now conduct a DNA test to conclusively establish the identities in this case.

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