Srikesh Kumar, the 40-year-old electrician, who was found breathing after he was kept in the mortuary for over seven hours on being presumed dead, has now gone into coma at the Lala Lajpat Rai Memorial (LLRM) hospital in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.
RC Gupta, the Principal of the LLRM medical college said, “Srikesh Kumar has developed a blood clot in his head and he may require surgery in the future. The condition of the patient is still critical and he is on ventilator support. We have put him under conservative treatment at the moment as it is not safe to operate because of a bleeding disorder.”
Satyanand Gautam, the elder brother of Srikesh Kumar, a dentist by profession was quoted as saying, “We also do not want surgery at the moment because his body is still weak as a result of excessive blood loss. He has been given three units of blood so far. His vital organs are functioning normally at the moment and we are all praying for his recovery.”
“When we call his name, he responds, which is a positive sign that shows that a part of his brain is still responding. The only problem is that he is having a high fever and there is always the risk of an external infection as his immunity is low. Therefore, heavy antibiotics are being given to him,” added Gautam.
According to media reports, the family has still not filed a complaint about negligence against the district hospital staff in Uttar Pradesh. On November 20, it was reported that Srikesh Kumar’s body was kept in the mortuary freezer for post-mortem after the doctors declared him dead following an accident he met with on Thursday. After spending 7 hours in the mortuary freezer it turned out that he was alive.
Videos had emerged where Srikesh Kumar was seen being taken out from the mortuary after his relatives noticed Sreekesh showing signs of life. The family members immediately alerted the doctors and Sreekesh was moved to the district hospital for treatment.
Srikesh Kumar had met with an accident on Thursday night. His family immediately rushed him to the hospital in Uttar Pradesh, where he was declared dead. His body was sent to the mortuary for post-mortem.
On Friday morning, the police arrived to file a panchnama, a document signed by family members after identifying the body and agreeing to an autopsy. It was then that the victim’s sister-in-law, Madhu Bala, noticed that he was showing signs of movement.
In a viral video, Bala was heard exclaiming, “He is not dead. How did this happen? Look, he wants to say something, he is breathing.” Srikesh Kumar was immediately rushed to Meerut for treatment.
Srikesh’s brother-in-law, Kishori Lal, while speaking to India Today claimed that they took Srikesh to three hospitals before he was declared dead by the doctor on emergency duty at the district hospital. He alleged that the doctor who was on emergency duty did a checkup, but did not provide treatment. He said there is neither pulse nor blood pressure and that he is dead.
Meanwhile, Moradabad’s chief medical superintendent Dr Shiv Singh, said, “The emergency medical officer had seen the patient at 3 am and there was no heartbeat. He had examined the man multiple times. Thereafter, he was declared dead but, in the morning, a police team and his family found him alive. A probe has been ordered. Our priority is now to save his life.”
Singh said it was one of those “rarest of rare cases… We can’t call it negligence”.
