Dead for 42 Days, Yet Ayushman Record Said ‘Recovering’: Chhattisgarh Constable’s Wife Gets Shocking Message

Ambikapur: A shocking case from Chhattisgarh’s Surguja district has raised serious questions over hospital record-keeping and the monitoring of Ayushman Bharat scheme data. A police constable who died at Ambikapur Medical College Hospital 42 days ago was apparently still shown as undergoing treatment in the system. The matter came to light when his wife received a message saying that her husband was recovering and would be returning home.

The deceased constable, Devnarayan Ram, had died during treatment at Ambikapur Medical College Hospital. His wife, Seema Kujur, who works as a staff nurse at Jashpur District Hospital, was stunned when she recently received an SMS from ‘Ayushman Sarathi’ addressed to Devnarayan.

The message reportedly stated: “Dear Devnarayan, you are recovering and going home.”

The message, received 42 days after his death, left the family shocked and prompted questions about how the patient’s treatment status could remain active in official records for so long.

Seema questioned the functioning of the Health Department and demanded a detailed investigation into the matter. She also sought strict action against those responsible for failing to update or close the patient’s records after his death.

The incident has also raised concerns about the handling of data under the Ayushman Bharat scheme and the accuracy of hospital records.

Ambikapur Medical Hospital’s Dr. Shailendra Gupta, however, attributed the incident to a data-entry error. He said Devnarayan had undergone treatment using an Ayushman card and that payments from the card were deducted only for the period during which he was actually admitted to the hospital.

According to Gupta, the hospital’s data operator failed to close the Ayushman card after the patient’s death. He termed it an oversight and said the card should have been closed.

The incident has now sparked demands for greater accountability in hospital data management and tighter checks to ensure that patient records are promptly updated after discharge or death.