Two families fight over Covid ex gratia as AIIMS-Patna revises wife’s name on man’s death certificate

An error by Patna’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in issuing two death certificates of a patient, with different names of spouse on each, has resulted in the second woman getting the Bihar government’s ex gratia of ₹4 lakh to the next of kin of the Covid-19 victim, people familiar with the matter said.

Rajeev Kumar Nirala, 39, a computer programmer at the Bihar School Examination Board, died of coronavirus at AIIMS, Patna, on October 22, 2020. The death certificate, issued initially to his father Janardan Prasad, 62, a farmer, on November 5, 2020, mentioned Prachi Priya as Nirala’s wife. She now stays with her parents in Patna.

Six days later, the certificate was revised, mentioning Puja Kumari as Nirala’s wife. Hindustan Times has copies of the two death certificates.

The father of the deceased has now challenged the revised death certificate, but the AIIMS is yet to act. After repeated complaints to AIIMS failed to get a response, Prasad filed an RTI (right to information) application on December 1, 2022, seeking to know on what basis the AIIMS changed the name of Nirala’s spouse in the revised death certificate, but the institute had not responded yet, said Prasad.

“I am waiting for the AIIMS to correct the death certificate and respond to my complaint and RTI petitions. I will then move the authorities concerned, seeking recovery of compensation amount paid to Puja Kumari. AIIMS should not only cancel the revised death certificate, but also retrieve it from Kumari,” said Prasad.

Puja Kumari, on the other hand, said Nirala and his family had cheated her and concealed the fact that he was already married when she entered into a matrimonial alliance with him in 2016. She also lodged a case of dowry against Niralas at Patna’s Digha police station on January 10, 2021, months before she received the ex gratia in March-April the same year.

Meanwhile, in July 2021, Rajesh Kumar Nirala, the brother of the deceased, wrote to police and other authorities, alleging his brother was murdered by Puja Kumari and her kin in a bid to claim the compensation, a charge she vehemently disputed.

“My brother Rahul Dev Barman attended to my husband all through his treatment at AIIMS between October 4 and 22, 2020, and we even spent lakhs of rupees on his medication. My brother and I even received my husband’s body from the institute for cremation,” said Kumari.

“I received the government ex gratia from Nalanda, my husband’s home district, only after I got a call from the office of the circle officer, Patna, guiding me to complete the formalities for claiming the compensation,” Kumari said.

The AIIMS, on its part, said it had taken “serious cognisance” on the issue but was yet to correct its mistake till the filing of this report at 5 pm on Wednesday.

“AIIMS Patna will cancel both the existing death certificates and issue a fresh death certificate to the father without mentioning wife’s name, as it is not a mandatory field in the death certificate form. And, AIIMS Patna is not a fact-finding body for fixing the authenticity of deceased’s wife,” Dr Shreekant Bharti, additional professor, department of pathology, and also the public relations officer of AIIMS, Patna, said in an e-mailed response on January 27.

“A warning letter will be given to the staff concerned issuing these certificates,” he added, in response to queries by the Hindustan Times on January 15.

The AIIMS evaded a reply when asked on what basis it changed the name of the spouse on Nirala’s death certificate.

Dr Bharti was not open to cross-questions on his e-mailed response.

When contacted for a response, Ravi Shankar, chief registrar of birth and death in Bihar, said on Tuesday, “This is a matter of inquiry. It was the responsibility of the medical superintendent, who is also the registrar of birth and death at AIIMS, to have verified and satisfied himself on the basis of supporting documentary evidence furnished by the applicant, before making any change in the death certificate.”

“We will seek a reply from the AIIMS on the matter,” said Sanjay Kumar Pansari, director in the directorate of economics and statistics, government of Bihar, which oversees the operation of registration of birth and death in Bihar.

Officials at the disaster management department, which releases ex gratia in such cases, said it was not aware about the case as it had not received any formal complaint.