Denied hearse, MP man takes mother’s body on bike for cremation

Bhopal, Aug 1: A man was forced to carry his mother’s body on his motorcycle for over 50 km after a government-run hospital denied a hearse van to him in Madhya Pradesh’s Shahdol district.

The deceased was identified as Jaimantri Yadav, a resident of Anuppur district (located on the Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh border).

A few days ago, she was admitted to a government hospital with acute chest pain. As her condition deteriorated, Anuppur district hospital authorities referred her to a medical college-cum district hospital in the adjoining district – Shahdol, where she died during treatment, a hospital employee told IANS on Monday.

After the woman died, her son tried to arrange for a hearse to take the body home for cremation but to no avail. However, there was no hearse available at the hospital, the employee said on condition of anonymity.

The family tried to arrange for a private ambulance but due to exorbitant charges, they decided to take the body on a two-wheeler. Subsequently, the body was wrapped in a bedsheet, and tied to the motorcycle which was ridden by the woman’s son for around 50 km.

The incident came to light after someone, who filmed the act, uploaded it on social media which soon went viral.

Notably, it is not the first such incident in Madhya Pradesh where due to the unavailability of an ambulance, families had to take the bodies on their own.

On July 11, an 8-year-old child was seen waiting for a vehicle to take the body of his two-year-old brother home after the hospital authority refused to provide hear van in the Guna district.

– IANS