MP: No hearse, man boards bus with neice's body
A man walked to the bus stand carrying the body of his four-year-old niece, who died in a freak accident, after he failed to get a hearse from the hospital in Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh. A video that has now gone viral shows the man walking through a busy road and boarding a crowded bus.
Why does this story matter?
Recently, similar incidents have been reported where people had to carry their family members on a bike, cot, and other makeshift arrangements. The Madhya Pradesh government has been boasting about an increase in the number of ambulances. In April, MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that the number of ambulances in the state had risen from 1,445 to 2,052.
The girl died in the village
Fellow passengers helped pay bus fare
The toddler had died in her village and her body was sent to the Chhatarpur district hospital for postmortem. After the examination, the man tried to look for a hearse, but found only disappointment as he had no money to rent a private vehicle. He then caught a bus and fellow passengers helped him pay the fare.
Similar incident a day before in Singrauli
In a similar incident a day before in Singrauli district, a couple was forced to carry their stillborn child in the side carrier box of their motorcycle after they were allegedly denied an ambulance. They approached the district magistrate's office for help. Looking at the situation, an inquiry was ordered into the couple's allegations of negligence by hospital authorities.
Asked to show the body, they opened the vehicle's boot
Chhatarpur saw similar incident four months ago
Nearly four months ago, a similar incident was reported from Buxwaha in Chhatarpur district. A grieving man had to carry the body of his four-year-old daughter on his shoulders after local authorities didn't provide him a hearse to take the body to his village.
