42 days after husband’s death, wife comes to know that he is ‘heading home’; Ayushman Bharat declares him ‘recovered’

A shocking case has emerged from Sarguja district in Chhattisgarh. Health department records kept a dead constable "alive" on paper. This continued for 42 days after his actual death.

The deceased, Devnarayan Ram, worked as a police constable. He was admitted to Ambikapur Medical College Hospital on 26 June. His health had deteriorated critically before this admission.

He died just 4 days later, on 30 June. His official death certificate was issued shortly afterwards.

However, records under the Ayushman Bharat scheme told a different story. His treatment appeared to continue on paper for weeks. This discrepancy surfaced when his wife received an unusual message.

Seema Kujur, his widow, works as a staff nurse herself. She received an automated SMS from the Ayushman Sarathi system. It congratulated her husband on his apparent "recovery".

“Dear Devnarayan, we are pleased to inform you that you have recovered and are heading home....” read the message that came over a month after the patient’s actual death.

Kujur, familiar with hospital protocols through her career, was shocked. She questioned why his treatment remained active for so long. She demanded a high-level inquiry into this serious lapse.

“How can a system remain unaware of a patient’s death for 42 days? If this is happening to a family of police personnel, one can only imagine what common, poor or tribal citizens face,” The New Indian Express quoted her as saying.

She asked whether this was a mere technical oversight or something worse. She wondered if a larger racket existed within the scheme. She noted vulnerable communities could face similar undetected issues.

Health officials respond

Following public reaction, senior health officials responded with clarifications. Dr RC Arya, the hospital's Superintendent, addressed the situation.

He confirmed that no treatment package was deducted after the constable's death. Only ₹16,500 was deducted for his actual treatment. He expressed surprise at his wife's serious allegations.

“It is surprising that his wife, who herself is from the medical field, is making such a claim,” Dr Arya told the publication.

He explained that the message was an auto-generated SMS beyond their control. The hospital plans to request that such messages be stopped after patient deaths.

“We will formally write to request that such auto-generated messages be stopped from reaching families after a patient’s death and once a case file is closed,” he added.

Sarguja's Chief Medical and Health Officer, Dr P S Marko, also responded. He acknowledged genuine operational lapses within the hospital's administrative system.

He attributed this to callousness on the part of the hospital staff. Operators reportedly failed to update the portal promptly after death.

“It seems laxity and delayed updates by the working staff and operators at the medical college hospital apparently led to this situation,” Marko told the publication.