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Unclaimed dead bodies are lying around for over two years in Mumbai's civic hospitals

Other than KEM hospital, Sion and Shatabdi Hospital have large number of unclaimed bodies in their morgues

Unclaimed dead bodies are lying around for over two years in Mumbai's civic hospitals
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In what seems to be a shocking revelation, for the last 6 months, 23 dead bodies are lying unclaimed in KEM Hospital's morgue. Even though the post-mortem has been completed, no one has come forward to claim the bodies. Police officers and staff working in the morgue are finding themselves helpless as they have written letters about the same to the authorities concerned because, without their consent, they cannot go ahead with the last rites.

Lack of space

There are 36 cabinets in KEM Hospital to keep dead bodies. Out of these, 26 cabinets are occupied by dead bodies making it difficult for other bodies. During an emergency, the staff has to pile up the bodies on one another.

On the condition of anonymity, one of the staff members of the morgue spoke to Mumbai Live,


For the last six months, 23 dead bodies are lying in the morgue. Though the bodies are kept in ice cubes, it can affect our health. We have asked our senior authorities to look into the matter and to carry out the final rites. It's getting difficult for us to work."

At KEM Hospital, 3-5 people die on a daily basis. This gets an add-on of people who die on Western Express Highway and in railway accidents. This becomes a problem during emergency situations as a number of dead bodies grow than the capacity of the cabinet.

Sion Hospital dealing with the same problem

Sion Hospital is considered as one of the most important hospitals due to its massive footfall of patients. The morgue of Sion Hospital has a capacity of 56 cabinets but it is always overflowing with more than 56 dead bodies.

Unclaimed dead bodies


  • KEM Hospital- 23
  • Sion Hospital- 56
  • Shatabdi Hospital- 20

Cabinet capacity in the morgue


  • KEM Hospital- 36 cabinets
  • Sion Hospital- 57 cabinets
  • J J Hospital- 75 cabinets
  • Cooper Hospital- 24 cabinets
  • Shatabdi Hospital- 30 cabinets
  • Rajawadi Hospital- 15 cabinets

In Shatabdi Hospital's morgue, 20 dead bodies are lying unclaimed for the last two years. The staff has done the DNA test and postmortem as well yet police are not able to find their relatives.

For the last two years, 20 dead bodies are lying in the morgue and no one has come forward to claim it. We have written to the police to lookout for the relatives. I think that if police will do their duty then it will be easy to find their relatives," Dr Pradeep Angre, Medical Officer, Shatabdi Hospital.

Annually, J J Hospital receives 750 unclaimed bodies while Cooper Hospital receives 2-3 unclaimed bodies in a day.

When Mumbai Live contacted KEM Hospital's Dean Dr. Avinash Supe, he expressed that it is an issue of concern.


A lot of times, we come across such patients who have no relatives and so when they die, no one comes ahead to claim the body. We perform the post-mortem and do the necessary medical checkups but the body lies unclaimed in the morgue. The procedure of carrying out last rites is difficult and time-consuming," Dr Avinash Supe, Dean, KEM Hospital.

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