'Dead' man found alive after 7 hours in mortuary freezer at UP hospital, probe ordered

Moradabad: A man who was presumed to be dead and kept inside the freezer of a hospital mortuary for more than seven hours was found alive, leaving doctors in bewilderment and swelling the hearts of his family members with happiness. This sounds like a plot straight out of a movie, but the script has actually played out in Moradabad district of Uttar Pradesh.

The man in question has been identified as Sreekesh Kumar (40), an electrician with the Moradabad civic body. On Thursday night, he was brought to the district hospital after he was hit by a speeding bike. The doctors at the hospital declared him dead, following which he was kept in a freezer at the mortuary pending a post-mortem examination.

To everyone’s surprise, Kumar was found alive seven hours after he was bundled up into the mortuary freezer. When the police were to file a 'panchnama' or document, endorsed by family members after identifying the body and agreeing to the post-mortem examination, Kumar's sister-in-law, identified as Madhu Bala, spotted him make movements.  A video doing rounds on social media shows Madhu Bala saying: “He’s breathing… He’s alive.”

“The emergency medical officer had seen the patient at around 3 am and there was no heartbeat. He told me he had examined the man multiple times. Therefore, he was declared dead. In the morning, a police team and his family found him alive. A probe has been ordered and our priority at the moment is to save his life,” a report by The Times of India quoted Moradabad chief medical superintendent, Dr Shiv Singh, as saying.

Singh described Kumar’s case as “rarest of the rare”. He explained various difficulties faced while pronouncing a person lifeless. Such difficulties can result in extraordinary situations, he said. He advised against calling it medical negligence until all reports are available.

The man, after being found alive, was shifted to a medical facility in Meerut. He has not regained consciousness yet, but medics stated that he is not in danger. Meanwhile, Madhu Bala informed that the family has decided to file a complaint against the Moradabad district hospital’s doctors.