CUTTACK: In yet another instance of administrative apathy, the body of a 78-year-old man was carried on a trolley-rickshaw from Ajana Matha to Mahanga CHC after local police allegedly instructed family members to take it to the hospital for postmortem without helping in arranging a hearse vehicle.
The incident came to the fore after a video clip of the body being carried on the rickshaw went viral on social media here on Sunday. The deceased was identified as Biranchi Narayan Jena of Jankothi under Nrutanga gram panchayat. According to his son Chandrasekhar Jena, Biranchi was mentally unstable and had gone missing seven days back following which he filed a missing complaint with Mahanga police.
While police allegedly took no step to trace the missing man, some locals found Biranchi’s highly decomposed body in a jungle near Ajanta Matha on Saturday and informed his family. When the family members took the matter to the police, the latter, instead of rushing to the spot and starting an investigation, allegedly asked them to take the body to Mahanga CHC for postmortem.
“We tried for hearse service but it was not available. Finding no other option, we were forced to arrange a trolley-rickshaw at Rs 1,500 to carry my father’s body to the CHC travelling a distance of 6 km,” Chandrasekhar said.
The incident has, meanwhile, raised questions as to why police did not turn up at the spot for investigation besides the unavailability of a hearse for the Dalit family. Officials of Mahanga police station were unavailable to comment on the matter.