New Delhi: The body of a man had to be carried on a bike for cremation after his relatives refused to attend the funeral as they feared ostracised since an autopsy was performed by a doctor from a lower caste. The incident took place at Odisha’s Bargarh district.
A daily wager named Muchunu Sandha has liver disease. He was transferred to a private hospital as his condition deteriorated. But while receiving care there, he passed away, and an autopsy was then carried out on him. On Friday, his body was transported in an ambulance to his hometown.
Muchunu’s body lay inside his home in the community as his mother, three-year-old daughter, and pregnant wife sat nearby wailing. For the funeral rites, neither members of his family nor members from his village attended. At this point, Sunil Behera, the gramme panchayat sarpanch’s spouse, made the decision to ride his bike to transport the body to the crematory.
Sunil had assisted in raising funds to cover the cost of the ambulance that transported Muchunu’s body to the village from the hospital.
Talking to India Today TV, Sunil Behera said, “He was unwell for a long time. He died at the hospital while being shifted to the emergency ward. We collected around Rs 8,000 and paid for the ambulance.”
“Villagers are unhappy about the autopsy. They do not come for the last rites of those on whom autopsies are done. As the family has no male members, I had to take the body to the crematorium on my bike,” he said.
Sunil did request that the body be taken to the crematorium grounds, and the ambulance driver and others complied. The ambulance had to stop midway due to the non-motorable nature of the route, so Sunil performed the final rites before tying the body to his bike and transporting it for cremation with the assistance of the ambulance driver and other helpers.
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