Authorities in Malad, Mumbai, discovered the body of a 78-year-old man preserved in a freezer at a former daycare center, where it had remained for over four years. The daughter, reportedly deeply attached to her deceased father, is said to have arranged for the long-term preservation with plans to eventually move the body to the US. The unusual situation came to light when a foul smell alerted residents as the premises were being cleared for redevelopment, prompting an investigation by the police.

Authorities in Malad, Mumbai, discovered the body of a 78-year-old man preserved in a freezer at a former daycare center, where it had remained for over four years. The daughter, reportedly deeply attached to her deceased father, is said to have arranged for the long-term preservation with plans to eventually move the body to the US. The unusual situation came to light when a foul smell alerted residents as the premises were being cleared for redevelopment, prompting an investigation by the police.

Authorities in Malad, Mumbai, discovered the body of a 78-year-old man preserved in a freezer at a former daycare center, where it had remained for over four years. The daughter, reportedly deeply attached to her deceased father, is said to have arranged for the long-term preservation with plans to eventually move the body to the US. The unusual situation came to light when a foul smell alerted residents as the premises were being cleared for redevelopment, prompting an investigation by the police.

In a shocking incident at a daycare centre in Mumbai's Malad, police recovered the body of a 78-year-old man from a freezer where it had been preserved for more than four years.

The body was found at a daycare centre in Konkani Pada, Kurar Village after residents complained of a foul smell coming from the premises on Monday evening.

The incident came to light after the premises were sought to be vacated for redevelopment. The day care stopped functioning about a month ago.

Police said that the man’s daughter, who is in her 40s, kept her father’s body at the day-care centre since June 2022 as she was “deeply attached” to her father and “wanted to preserve his body” for life. The man died of cancer on June 9, 2022.

One officer said that there was nothing suspicious about the death despite the unusual act of preserving a body for such a long period.

The discovery raised questions of how the boy remained inside the centre for so long and whether the authorities had inspected the premises properly.

The landlord who owns the daycare centre and the adjoining premises sought to vacate the property as the chawl, over 2000 sq ft in area, was going to be redeveloped, the Indian Express reported.

One resident claimed that Residents in the area noticed a smell from the premises on Sunday. The stench prompted someone to alert the police.

After the police discovered the body, they learnt that the deceased man had a son who lives in Mumbai and a daughter who resided in the US but moved to Andheri.

The daughter told police that she and her brother contacted an organisation in the US that provides body-preservation services.

They had also planned to move the body to the US eventually and had been saving money for the process while seeking legal advice and communicating with the organisation.

The landlord meanwhile claimed that he had no idea a body was kept inside the premises. He said that he had rented the area to one Abdul Rehman in early 2022. Rehman handed over the property to another management, who then operated the clinic.

The family of the deceased man reportedly paid around Rs 1.60 lakh every month to keep the body preserved at the centre.

“We have discussed with the family, and now they will take the decision whether they want to cremate the body or shift it to the BMC by procuring a certificate and paying legal charges,” the officer added.
The family provided the police with the man’s death certificate that showed that he died of natural causes, along with other documents submitted to the BMC.

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