A healthcare assistant has been arrested on suspicion of stealing a dead patient’s gold earring.
The victim had been admitted to A&E without vital signs after a car crash on Saturday (19 Apr).
Her body was kept in the hospital for a post-mortem, as reported by Need To Know.
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Police officers inspecting victim Shweta Devi’s corpse noticed one of her earrings was missing.
The 26-year-old’s family immediately suspected it had been stolen.
After hearing about the allegation, hospital assistant Vijay Singh handed in the missing jewellery piece to his superiors.
The 27-year-old claimed he had found it on the floor at the facility in Shamli, north-north-east of Delhi, India.
But Shweta’s family and the police did not believe him and asked the hospital directors to review the ward’s CCTV footage.
The clip shows how Singh covered the deceased’s body with a sheet as two men stood nearby.
He then gestured for them to move away.
After they had walked off, he apparently unhooked the ornament and hid it in his pocket.
Superintendent Ram Sevak Gautam told local media: “Surveillance footage clearly shows Vijay removing an earring from the deceased’s ear.
“He fled the hospital premises before he could be questioned by staff.”
The police opened a case against Singh and he was arrested on Sunday (20 Apr) on suspicion of theft of property from a dead body.