5 months after death, HC orders DNA test on victim

KOLKATA: Five months after the death of a woman — whose family had filed a petition alleging sale of organs — the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday ordered a DNA test of the deceased.

Kakoli Sarkar, 42, was admitted to Midland Nursing Home on April 22. She was Covid positive and breathed her last at the nursing home on April 25.

On Tuesday, Justice Rajasekhar Mantha heard the plea, seeking an investigation by the CID against the nursing home. On September 13, the Calcutta High Court had ordered a second post-mortem of the deceased. The court also directed the setting up of a special team of three doctors from NRS Hospital to check if any of the organs was missing. The family members pointed out that during the post mortem the condition of the body was so bad that it was difficult for them to identify it. They suspected that the body might be of another person.

According to the family members, Kakoli had asked her family members to get her discharged from the nursing home. She had also informed that illegal sale of organs takes place in the nursing home. Her family members ignored it and thought she was saying so out of fear of the ongoing treatment at the nursing home.

The family members claimed Kakoli died after a nurse in the nursing home gave her an injection. Earlier, the family members had also registered a complaint with the state Health Commission seeking justice. The Commission had asked the nursing home authority to give compensation of Rs 2 lakh.