Meerut, June 20 -- A contractual sanitation worker was arrested after he was caught on CCTV footage allegedly removing gold earrings from the body of a woman who had just been declared dead in the district hospital's emergency ward, in Badaun district. The incident took place on Wednesday night when Shahana, a resident of Dataganj, was brought to the district hospital, where doctors declared her dead. Following her death, her body was placed on a stretcher in the emergency ward while the family arranged a vehicle to take her back. Hospital sanitation worker Veeru, who was employed through a private contractor, later assisted in moving the stretcher to the waiting hearse. It was only after the body had been placed inside the vehicle that the family members realised that the earrings were missing. The family immediately called the police, leading to a commotion inside the hospital that lasted for nearly half an hour. Hospital authorities subsequently reviewed CCTV footage from the premises. According to officials, the footage clearly showed Veeru pulling the gold earrings from the deceased woman's ears while transporting the body from the emergency ward to the vehicle. Confronted with the evidence, the accused reportedly returned the stolen jewellery and pleaded for forgiveness. He was subsequently handed over to the police. Chief medical superintendent Dr Amit Kumar Varshney said the accused was employed through M/s AN Kapoor Private Limited, the agency responsible for providing contractual staff to the hospital. He confirmed that Veeru was immediately removed from duty following the incident. "The contracting agency has been informed through an official communication, and steps will be taken to further strengthen the hospital's security arrangements," he said. Hospital authorities did not provide a clear response on whether police verification had been conducted before the worker was assigned duty. The family approached the Kotwali police station on Thursday evening. Police registered a theft case against Veeru. Kotwali inspector (crime) Ashok Kumar Singh said the accused had been produced before the court and sent to jail on Friday....