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Topics: World News, Health
Saskia Calliste
An Indian man who was declared dead woke up on his funeral pyre moments before he was nearly set on fire.
Rohitash Kumar, 25, had been suffering from ill health and on Thursday was taken to a hospital in the western state of Rajasthan, India.
It's reported that Kumar had an epileptic fit, which prompted the hospital visit.
Due to his difficulty hearing and speaking, Kumar had been staying at the Maa Sewa Sansthan care home for support with his needs.
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When he arrived at the hospital, Kumar was pronounced dead after doctors attempted CPR and saw his heart flatline on the electrocardiogram.
Doctors at the Bhagwan Das Khetan (BDK) district hospital unusually sent Kumar straight to the mortuary, instead of carrying out a postmortem to confirm his cause of death.
In accordance with Hindu rites, from the mortuary Kumar's body was placed on a funeral pyre. However, witnesses noticed Kumar was moving moments before the burning took place, saving his life.
"The situation was nothing short of a miracle. We all were in shock. He was declared dead, but there he was, breathing and alive," a witness at the crematorium told ETV Bharat.
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Even though the initial investigation stated that Kumar died of 'respiratory failure due to lung disease like COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and TB (tuberculosis). An official postmortem was never carried out, and one of the doctors involved only 'prepared the postmortem report without actually doing the postmortem, and the body was then sent for cremation', D. Singh, chief medical officer of the Jhunjhunu district hospital told AFP.
Ramavatar Meena, the district collector for Jhunjhunu, backed up this claim and told the Times of India that the postmortem was carried out in 'papers only and it was not done physically'.
Three doctors who have since been named in the local media have been suspended by the health department amid 'negligence allegations'. They have been named as BDK chief medical officer Dr Sandeep Pachar, community health medical officer Dr Yogesh Kumar Jakhar and hospital medical officer Dr Navneet Meel, as reported by the Times of India.
After Kumar woke up on the pyre, he was rushed back to BDK hospital's ICU. However, his condition did not improve. After an attempt to refer him to the SMS hospital, Kumar sadly died en route.
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"He was referred to the SMS hospital but died at 5.30 am on Friday before reaching the SMS hospital in Jaipur," said the Collector, Jhunjhunu.