In a shocking turn of events and a lapse on the part of authorities at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, a Gujarati student’s dead body was believed to be a spare parts consignment and dispatched elsewhere.

Deceased student Zeel Khokhra, originally from Surendranagar, was studying at La Trobe University in Melbourne. Around 10 days ago, he met an untimely demise after he went swimming at Victoria Beach in Australia.

On Mar 27, the cargo flight from Australia to India carried the dead body of 26-year-old Kokhara. The body was later sent to Ahmedabad through Air India Airlines.

The family of the deceased had arrived at the airport to claim the body of their son, only to be informed by airport staff that ‘the coffin containing his remains had been dispatched to another location by a different airport company’. The event left the family in anguish.

With the assistance of local police, airport authorities, and CCTV footage, the youth’s body was located in a corporate building in Ahmedabad’s Vastrapur area. The tracking went on for around eight hours.

According to sources, the dead body of Khokhra that was brought to Ahmedabad by cargo on Air India's Delhi-Ahmedabad flight was allegedly handed over to the cargo company’s employee without any verification.

However, the airline said, "Our job is only to hand over the cargo that comes with our flight to the airport. It is the responsibility of airport cargo to check the cargo and hand it over to the right person.” Meanwhile, the airport management said that an investigation is underway into this matter.

The family of the deceased youth is reportedly considering complaining to the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) regarding this negligence.

After the youth’s body was found by his family on Mar 27, his last rites were performed at Surendranagar on the evening of Mar 28.

Also read:

From Varun Chheda to Neel Acharya, the Purdue deaths that shook Indians

Indian woman from Hyderabad murdered in Australia