BALASORE: In a heart-wrenching incident, a man was forced to carry his 17-year-old daughter’s body on a trolley rickshaw for around 7 km to a community health centre in Balasore’s Baliapal for postmortem after reportedly failing to afford an ambulance.
Asha Bindhani, a minor girl suffering from mental illness, reportedly died by suicide on Thursday afternoon in Deula village under Baliapal police limits. After spotting her, locals informed her father Madhu Bindhani and the police.
Madhu, a daily wage labourer, rushed to the spot and found his daughter dead. Shortly after, police arrived and advised him to take the body to the Baliapal CHC for postmortem.
Madhu contacted an ambulance service, but the driver allegedly demanded Rs 1,200 for transporting the ‘dead body’. The desperate father also sought help from the government’s 108 emergency ambulance service. However, he was reportedly told that the service does not cover transportation of deceased persons.
With no money and little choice, Madhu appealed to locals for financial help but received none. Ultimately, a local rickshaw puller stepped in and offered his three-wheeler to help transport the body.
Madhu carried his daughter’s body to the CHC in the trolley rickshaw, where doctors conducted the postmortem within a few hours. The same rickshaw was later used to carry the body back to Deula village for the last rites.
“I am a poor daily labourer. I couldn’t arrange `1,200 for the ambulance to take my daughter’s body to the CHC. A kind man lent me his trolley rickshaw. It was the only way I could bring my daughter for postmortem and later take her back home for the final rites,” Madhu said.
On Friday, videos and photos of Madhu pulling the trolley rickshaw with his daughter’s body on it went viral on social media. Local police and health officials couldn’t be reached for comments.