Local journalists found this 8 year old boy sitting with the dead body of his two-year-old brother. Their father searched for a vehicle to take them home as Madhya Pradesh government denies ambulances to unprivileged families for transporting bodies.
A local journalist in Madhya Pradesh’s Morena town on Saturday recorded a 8 year old boy, Gulshan having to sit for hours by the roadside with the body of his 2-year-old brother Raja on his lap while their father Poojaram Jatav aged 45 was desperately looking for a vehicle to take them home.Â
He sat against the wall which was painted with a ‘Swachh Bharat mission massage’ with his dead brother in his lap constantly for 2 hours covering his body with one hand and while using another hand to buzz off flies. When passers-by stopped and questioned, he nonchalantly replied that it was his younger brother and he was waiting for his father to arrive.
Madhya Pradesh government hospitals are refusing unprivileged families for transporting dead corpses. It has become a routine there that these people are carrying corpses on shoulders, cycles or bikes. This toddler, after being declared dead by the hospital, was not provided with an ambulance to take his dead body. The 2-year-old passed away due to illness at the district hospital. Even when the father asked for an ambulance, the district hospital staff refused to provide any ambulance vehicle. The 8 year old boy sat with the dead body and his plight attracted the attention of passersby. Soon, the public reported the police. The Media too arrived. The police then arranged for an ambulance to take the child’s dead body home for funeral.
