A body taken to a hospital for post-mortem in Siraha has been handed over to the wrong family members, prompting protests by the victim’s family.

The body belongs to 16-year-old Nisha Baniya of Jamdaha in ward 3 of Golbazar Municipality. She was found dead at her home at around 10am on Saturday. Police had taken her body to the Provincial Hospital in Lahan for a post-mortem.

When family members reached the hospital on Tuesday to receive the body, hospital officials told them that Nisha’s body was no longer there and instead asked them to take another young woman’s body. The family then blocked the East-West Highway at Golbazar, staging a protest.

Medical Superintendent Ranjit Jha said a similar body from Khadak Municipality in Saptari had arrived at the hospital on the same day. He claimed the bodies were mistakenly handed over and that Nisha’s body was cremated by the Saptari family on Sunday. According to him, the other young woman’s body is still at the hospital.

District Police Office Siraha spokesperson and Deputy Superintendent of Police Ramesh Bahadur Pal said an investigation is underway. “We have started investigating the incident. This should not have happened. The facts will be clear after the probe,” he said.