UP: Not given ambulance, kin forced to take man’s body home on bike; officials deny allegation

The family members of a man who died after falling from a tree in the neighbouring Kaushambi district were forced to carry his body back home on a motorcycle from the district hospital.

Lalta Prasad, 30, a daily wage worker of Hisampur village in Karari area of Kaushambi fell off the tree that he had climbed to arrange firewood on Friday morning.

His family members rushed Lalta Prasad, who had become unconscious, to the Kaushambi district hospital where doctors declared him brought dead after examination.

The family members asked the doctors on duty at the Kaushambi district hospital for an ambulance. When the doctors allegedly failed to provide a vehicle even after an hour, the agitated family members decided to take Lalta’s body back home on a motorbike.

The district hospital has two ambulances.

Officiating chief medical superintendent (CMS) of the hospital Dr Arvind Kanaujia said the doctors had arranged for an ambulance but the grieving family members refused to wait for the same and took the body on a bike.

The district administration has a different take on the incident. Kaushambi district magistrate Manish Kumar Verma said since Lalta was brought dead to the hospital, the doctors advised a post-mortem.

“Post-mortem is not mandatory in every case. Since a post-mortem report is necessary at times where family members of the deceased are eligible for benefits of government welfare schemes, the doctors on duty advised for the same. Unable to understand the importance of post-mortem, the grieving family members turned it down and took the body on the bike on which they had brought it to hospital,” he said.

In June, a labourer was forced to carry the body of his seven-month-old niece nearly 10 kilometres on his bicycle solely due to lack of a government ambulance at the same district hospital.

Photo Caption : Grieving family members of Lalta Prasad taking his body back home on a motorbike outside Kaushambi district hospital on Friday morning.