Chennai: When Saritha, 39, arrived at Government Royapettah Hospital on Friday afternoon to claim the body of her husband, who died of cardiac arrest earlier that morning, she found his body lying outside the mortuary for nearly two hours.Senthil Kumar, 42, a driver for a travel agency in Adyar, died around 11.15am outside the IIT Madras Research Park in Taramani. He had just dropped off a customer, who was staying at a hotel on Anna Salai, and was reversing his car when it hit a wall. When he stepped out to assess the damage, he collapsed. Bystanders took him to a private hospital and alerted the travel agency. A doctor declared him dead on arrival, and police transported the body to Government Royapettah Hospital for postmortem. But the examination did not happen. Forensic officials at the hospital said they could not accept the body without an FIR and a formal request for a postmortem from the police. Since neither arrived, Senthil Kumar’s body was left outside the mortuary as hospital staff waited for the paperwork. His body was moved into the mortuary only after the family arrived. The delay is traced back to the Taramani police station, where officers said they did not immediately register a FIR because the inspector on duty, Raja, had been deployed for bandobast duty, covering a law college protest and an eviction drive within the station’s jurisdiction.Saritha, a resident of Mandaveli, went to the police station to file a complaint. She was told the FIR could not be prepared until inspector Raja returned to authorize it.By 5pm, the FIR was filed but police were yet to give the formal request. Senthil Kumar’s body was moved inside the mortuary. The postmortem is expected to be conducted on Saturday, while his wife and the couple’s seven-year-old daughter are left to wait.
