A nine‑second video that went viral on social media shows a masked young man removing a gold chain from the neck of a deceased body outside the registration office of the government Model Sadar Hospital in Siwan, Bihar. The incident was recorded on a mobile phone on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, and the man pocketed the jewellery and left the premises without being noticed by hospital staff or cameras.
Hospital management said it had not observed the theft at the time, and that a CCTV system was in place. After the video spread online on Thursday, the superintendent, Dr. Anil Kumar Singh, announced an investigation and said the police would take action. An FIR was filed at the Siwan Sadar Town police station and the CCTV footage was handed over for further inquiry. The incident follows a prior complaint that a silver anklet had been removed from a body, a case the hospital had not addressed.
The deceased was identified as 35‑year‑old Aarti Devi, wife of Rajan Thakur from Bangra village in the Maharajganj police station area. She had been bitten by a poisonous snake and was transferred from Maharajganj Sub‑Divisional Hospital to Model Sadar Hospital for treatment, but died en route. Her body was placed on a stretcher near the emergency ward, where the masked man later removed the chain.
The opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) criticised Bihar Health Minister Nishant Kumar after sharing the video on X. The party accused the health department of enabling theft at government hospitals, alleging that staff were stealing from bodies to enrich themselves, and called for a review of security arrangements and staff conduct at the hospital.
