Days after booking the caretaker of an elderly man for allegedly deliberately not taking his illness seriously, resulting in his death, the police have identified a private doctor from Parel who helped the caretaker and her son with a duplicate death certificate, using which they got a no objection certificate from the police to conduct his final rites.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Vijay Patil (zone IV) said, “We have come to know that the doctor gave them the duplicate certificate for Rs 500, that helped them in procuring police NOC. We have so far not named him as an accused in the FIR, but we will soon arrest him.”
According to police officials, 77-year-old man Yezdiar Edel Behram succumbed on October 8, 2020, after reporting critically ill three days ago.
During the investigation, the police came to know that his household help Mangal Gaikwad, who was taking care of the septuagenarian since 2016, did not rush him to hospital on purpose despite doctors advising her to admit him.
“She went against the doctor’s advice and did not tell anyone that he was critical and kept him in the house. In her statement she has claimed that Behram had requested her to not admit him, however it was her responsibility to ensure that he is safe,” said an investigator.
The investigation also revealed that in February 2020, Behram and Gaikwad went to the registrar’s office in Khar and got married without informing anyone.
“Our preliminary inquiry suggests that she did not rush Behram to hospital and left him to die at home because she had her eyes on the 1500 sq. feet Dadar Parsi colony house in which the septuagenarian was staying,” said an officer. “It was only after she came to know that he had passed away that Gaikwad took him to KEM hospital, where he was declared dead before admission.”
The police said they will soon make an arrest.
The investigators have also learned that the caretaker tried to change the name on the electricity bill.
“We have understood that she submitted duplicate documents and requested BEST to change the name on the bill to her name. We will gather evidence on that and accordingly add sections of forgery,” said Patil.