A family in Mumbai has preserved the body of their deceased member for four years.(File photo)
MUMBAI: Deeply disturbed by the death of an 80-year-old family member, his wife and two adult children preserved his body for four years, spending more than Rs 50 lakh and researching whether it could eventually be sent to a cryonics facility in the US, police said. The man died in 2022 after suffering from cancer, kidney failure and other age-related ailments. Police said the family had spent more than Rs 50 lakh on preserving the body over the past four years.
When redevelopment work began at the building, they moved it to the clinic, police said. The family told investigators that they had been deeply affected by his death and could not bring themselves to perform his last rites, according to police. The family’s research centred on the possibility of preserving the man’s body in the hope that advances in future science could one day make revival possible, police said. The family had been exploring these options while simultaneously seeking legal advice in India, police said. After questioning the family members, clinic management and the property owner, police ruled out foul play and said the man had died of natural causes. The family also produced documents relating to his death, police said.
The man’s body was found inside a freezer at the premises, where the family had kept it after their residential building went into redevelopment. His family initially kept his body in a freezer at their Malad home. His wife and two adult children, including a lawyer daughter, had researched cryonics online and contacted organisations in the US that offer long-term preservation of people after legal death. The family was also consulting lawyers in India to understand the legalities involved in preserving the body and was exploring whether it could be transported to a facility in the US.
The unusual arrangement came to light on Monday night after Kurar police received a tip-off and visited a polyclinic in Malad.