Police returns dead man's fingers which were stuck in MRI machine

Maru's ring finger and part of the little finger were sent to the Kalina Forensic Library 18 months ago even as the family waited for them

The family of Rajesh Maru, who died in a freak accident in the MRI room of Nair Hospital in January 2018, has received his fingers that were stuck in the machine for a few days and later kept at Kalina Forensic Library for almost 18 months. The 32-year-old died after being sucked into the MRI machine while he was helping an ailing relative.

Made to run from pillar to post to receive Maru's fingers, the family was finally approached by Agripada police on Wednesday regarding receiving them. "We have been running from one department to another in search of the finger and finally got a call from the police station yesterday and were given the finger, kept in a jar, after filing up many forms," said Harish Solanki, Maru's brother-in-law.

Shamji Maru, father of the deceased said that according to Hindu rituals, "it is important to perform last rites on all body parts but in his case, the finger was still missing while the rest of the body was cremated." Maru added, "I lost my son due to the negligence of the hospital and to add to our sorrow, the authorities harassed us for 18 months in search of his finger. This is the sad state of our system."

Also Read: MRI death: Rajesh Maru's finger forgotten at lab while family looked for it

Rajesh Maru

The incident

Maru, a garment merchant, was visiting a relative who was to undergo an MRI scan at Nair Hospital, in January last year. As soon as he entered the room with an oxygen cylinder in his hand, he was pulled in, along with the cylinder, by the magnetic field of the MRI machine that was four feet away. He died after excessive inhalation of gas when the cylinder's knob broke open. In the accident, his finger got stuck under the cylinder and thus remained at there for two days until the lab technician removed it. It was later sent to the Kalina Forensic Laboratory (KFL) for DNA analysis.

Despite confirming that the finger belonged to Maru and a report being submitted to police months ago, the finger remained at KFL for months. Savalaram Agavane, senior police inspector at Agripada police station had in July last year said that he wasn't aware of the finger's whereabouts.

Also Read: Mumbai MRI death: CCTV nails Nair culprits who caused Rajesh Maru's death

'Awaiting police orders'

The laboratory, on the other hand, had been awaiting a response from the police to hand it over to the family. "We generally keep samples with us after DNA analysis for a couple of years before disposing them off. Once an analysis is done, it becomes the responsibility of the police to inform us about whom to hand it over to. We have no role in it," said Dr. Krishna Kulkarni, director of the laboratory.

Also Read: Mumbai MRI death: Rajesh Maru's family send legal notice to BMC, Nair hospital seeking Rs 86 lakh

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