CUTTACK: In a shocking incident, a poverty-stricken couple of Nayagarh was found begging to cremate their dead toddler on Ranihat Medical road on Thursday.
Holding his dead son, Rajkishore Pradhan of Chandpur in Nayagarh along with his wife was seeking money to perform the last rites of the 18-month-old boy. Rajkishore said his son was suffering from congenital long hydrocephalus and undergoing treatment at Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar. He was shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital on July 24. The toddler underwent surgery on July 29 but succumbed. As all his money was spent in Cuttack, Rajkishore and his wife were forced to beg for money to take their son’s body to their native village for cremation, he claimed.
Later in the day, some local social activists extended a helping hand to Rajkishore by providing him financial assistance. Subsequently, the toddler’s body was carried in an ambulance to Kaliaboda cremation ground where his last rites were performed.
SCB MCH superintendent Prof Sudhansu Sekhar Mishra said a Mahaprayan vehicle was not required to carry the body of a toddler who died of septicemia. Mishra further said Rajkishore had forcefully barged into the ICU of the hospital in an inebriated condition. He had even asked the authorities to lodge a complaint against Rajkishore.