Now Allegations Against Poona Hospital for Withholding Deceased Body Over Unpaid Bills

Pune, 25th April 2025: Allegations have surfaced against Poona Hospital and Research Centre in Sadashiv Peth over the alleged mishandling of the Urban Poor Medical Assistance Scheme under the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). The hospital is accused of refusing to hand over a deceased patient’s body to the family at night due to unpaid bills, and instead releasing it only in the morning. The body was reportedly withheld for more than eight hours. A complaint made to the PMC Health Department alleges that the delay occurred because the family was unable to make the required payment.

However, the hospital administration has denied the allegations, stating that the deceased’s relatives had agreed to wait until morning, which is why the body was handed over then.

Nilesh Sharad Mahajan, a resident of Rasta Peth, complained to the PMC Health Department, alleging that Poona Hospital mishandled the body of his brother-in-law, Mahesh Pathak, a resident of Shukrawar Peth.

In his complaint, Mahajan wrote: “My brother-in-law was undergoing treatment at Poona Hospital and passed away late at night around 1:30 AM on April 21. Since he was being treated under the Urban Poor Medical Assistance Scheme, we were told the bill could only be generated at 8:30 AM and that we could take the body after that. They said the scheme’s billing cannot be processed at night, and if we wanted the body immediately, we would have to pay the full amount without the scheme benefits. The bill was generated in the morning, and the body was handed over around 9:30 AM—eight hours after the death.”

Renuka Katare, Public Relations Officer at Poona Hospital, dismissed the claims. “The deceased’s relatives agreed to wait until morning, which is why the body was handed over then. While the official paper billing under the Urban Poor Medical Assistance Scheme is done in the morning, payment can be made at night, and the body can be released. We informed them of this, but they wanted the paper bill. In a recent case under the same scheme, another family accepted the body at night.”