Kandhamal/Cuttack: Odisha health & Family Welfare Minister Mukesh Mahaling ordered a departmental probe into an alleged organ theft incident at a private hospital in Cuttack. 

Police exhumed the body of a man in Kandhamal after the deceased's family members alleged organ theft and lodged a complaint at Baliguda Police Station in Kandhamal district.  

The deceased has been identified as Babula Diggal, a resident of Tikarbaju village at Baliguda area in Kandhamal district. 

According to reports, Babula met with an accident while he was traveling on his motorcycle with his son and wife on October 13. The victim was rushed to Baliguda Hospital, later to Berhampur and then to AIIMS, Bhubaneswar. However, the victim was denied admission at the AIIMS due to some strike. As suggested by the Ambulance driver, the victim was taken to a private hospital in Cuttack, where he succumbed on October 16. 

"We went to several hospitals and then rushed to Bhubaneswar AIIMS. As the patient was denied admission, with no option left, we took him to the Rudra Hospital in Cuttack on October 15. The doctors conducted surgery on the patient and told us that the operation was successful. They assured us that the patient will recover within two days. However, he was declared dead the next day i.e. on October 16," said the deceased's son Iscak Diggal. 

He alleged the doctors of not conducting a post-mortem on the deceased's body. 

"We demanded the hospital for post-mortem but the doctors refused to follow it. After we were handed over the body, we found a cut mark on his stomach, whereas my father had injuries on his head in the accident," he revealed. 

The family alleged that the hospital doctors removed the deceased's organ. 

Meanwhile, a team of Commissionerate Police visited the Rudra Hospital in Cuttack for an investigation into the alleged organ trade racket following the complaint in Kandhamal.