A grieving father was forced to carry the body of his dead daughter on his shoulder for over 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) after he was unable to get access to an ambulance or hearse in the eastern Indian state of Odisha.
Gati Dhibar, believed to be from Pechamundi village, had to carry his five-year-old daughter’s body after the child died at Palalahada Community Health Centre (CHC), the Hindustan Times reported. The hospital reportedly failed to provide any removal options.
Video footage captured Dhibar walking along the roadside with a cloth draped over his dead daughter after he was unable to get a hearse, as bystanders looked on.
The father was accompanied by his other daughter who was visibly distressed by the incident.
It’s understood an investigation has been launched by local authorities as to why Dhibar was refused a hearse or coffin, according to One India, with an investigation ongoing.
Two staff members from the hospital have been suspended on grounds of negligence for not preventing Dhibar from leaving the grounds, reported 24 India News.
Anil Kumar Samal, a district collector, stated that further details of the incident had been requested.
“Following [the] dead body carrying incident in Palalahada, the sub-collector visited the spot and spoke to the family members of the deceased,” Samal said. “On the basis of the report, security guard and junior hospital manager has [sic] has been suspended. We shall ensure nothing undignified happens with any dead body.”
The incident echoes a similar case in Odisha where a husband was forced to carry the body of his dead wife on his shoulders from the hospital to his village, which was around 12km away because he was unable to pay for an ambulance.
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At the time, a member of parliament, Baijayant Jay Panda, said a scheme to provide free transport of bodies from government hospitals was to be expanded in the area, but it appears that little has changed.