PARVATHIPURAM-MANYAM: Two tribesmen were forced to carry the body of their cousin, who died in an accident, on a motorcycle for 35 kilometres from Pottangi Government Hospital in Odisha to their native Eguva Ganjaibadhra village in Parvathipuram-Manyam district, Andhra Pradesh after they were denied ambulance service and could not hire a private vehicle.
The deceased, identified as Gimmeli Viswanadh (25), was killed in an accident near Kundili village in Odisha while he was heading to Ganjaibadhra, a disputed village in the Kotia region on the Andhra-Odisha Border, after visiting Pottangi Revenue Office to get a caste certificate on Thursday.
The incident came to light on Friday after a video of the two men carrying the body on the bike went viral on social media. After post-mortem, Odisha police handed over the body to the family members but did not provide an ambulance to them.
Following this, a heated argument erupted between the police and Viswanadh’s kin, triggering mild tension in the region. With no other go, Gemmili Bishu and Divakar carried the body on a bike. Later, Odisha police arrested two people, Pangi Dinodu of Borabanda and Gemmeli Lio of Kantigam, for staging a protest at the hospital.
Tribesmen stage protest at Pottangi PS
Subsequently, several tribesmen from various parts of the disputed Kotia region demonstrated in front of Pottangi police station on Friday, demanding the release of the duo.
“We requested Pottangi police and authorities at the PHC (Primary Healthcare Centre) to provide an ambulance to shift the body to our village. However, they claimed that no ambulance was available at the time. We tried to hire an auto, but they also refused citing some rules. We were then left with no other option,” rued Gemmili Bishu.
Pointing out that the Odisha government had even laid roads in their village, he was indignant that they did not provide an ambulance to shift the body. Ganjaibadhra is one of the 21 villages in the disputed Kotia region. Over the past six decades, governments of both States have been administering the region as per the Supreme Court verdict.