A Doctor's Death And Rs 60-Crore Property Without Legal Heirs

Wright Town, Jabalpur's most elite and expensive address, fell into an unsettling silence on Sunday evening. Inside a sprawling bungalow worth crores, guarded not only by grief but by uniformed police and bouncers, lay the body of 81-year-old senior ophthalmologist Dr Hemlata Srivastava. Her final days unfolded like a slow-burning legal thriller.

Her funeral procession moved under administrative supervision from her Wright Town residence to Ranital Muktidham. But even before the flames were lit, a far more combustible question had already ignited the city - who inherits the empire she leaves behind?

On January 12, Dr Hemlata celebrated her 81st birthday. A now-viral video shows her smiling, cutting cake with Dr Sumit Jain and his wife Prachi Jain. Two days later, her health allegedly deteriorated sharply. By January 15, she was critically ill. And somewhere between celebration and hospitalisation, documents were signed. At the heart of the storm is an 11,000 square feet prime land parcel in Wright Town, reportedly valued at nearly ra 60 crore.

Dr Sumit Jain claims Dr Hemlata voluntarily donated the land to build a memorial hospital in the name of her late father-in-law and son. "She was fully conscious. She was like a mother to us," he maintains.

But the story does not end there. It fractures. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has alleged coercion and harassment, claiming the senior doctor was pressured into signing registry and gift deeds despite her fragile physical and mental state. In January, after tensions escalated, district authorities intervened and admitted her to the Medical College on the Collector's orders.

Crucially, Dr Hemlata later reportedly stated that the deed of gift had been registered by providing false information.

The Gayatri Mandir Trust, meanwhile, has asserted that Dr Hemlata had expressed a wish to donate her entire property to the trust. Her younger sister Kanak Lata Mishra was cited in support of this claim. On the other side stands her Chhattisgarh-based sister Shanti Mishra, who has now taken custody of the body and is central to the family's legal claim. Multiple claimants. Multiple versions. One property.

As speculation mounted, Jabalpur District Collector Raghavendra Singh addressed the controversy. Speaking to NDTV, he clarified that the Wright Town property falls under the Municipal Corporation's leasehold category and legally cannot be donated. He further stated that in a later recorded statement, Dr Hemlata denied donating the property. "The entire matter has been referred to the SDM court. Statements of all concerned parties are being recorded. Decisions will be taken strictly as per legal provisions," the collector said.

With this, what appeared to be a private dispute has now firmly entered formal legal proceedings.

Adding to the drama are reports that Dr Hemlata was allegedly taken away in a car by individuals linked to a religious group when her condition deteriorated, an act neighbours objected to, leading to police intervention. Questions have also been raised about her hospitalisation, where she was treated, what medication was administered, and why her health spiralled so quickly.

Dr Hemlata Srivastava's personal history deepens the tragedy. Her son, Dr Rachit Srivastava, died of a sudden heart attack in 2022. Her husband died in December 2025. Once surrounded by family, she was left alone in a bungalow without direct heirs, sitting atop land that suddenly seemed more valuable to others than her fading health.

On November 9, 2025, she attended a medical conference in perfect health. By January 2026, IMA officials described her condition as "like a living corpse." Within weeks, she was gone.