Family seen carrying body on shoulders in Boudh, video goes viral

In yet another distressing incident highlighting gaps in emergency services, relatives of a deceased man were forced to carry his body on their shoulders after a hearse allegedly failed to arrive.

The incident occurred on Monday in Boudh district, where the family of Thakur Meher, a resident of Karmapadar village, carried his body from Baunsuni Community Health Centre (CHC) to their village, walking along National Highway-57.

According to reports, Thakur Meher had gone to bathe in a pond near his village when he accidentally drowned. Though locals managed to rescue him and rushed him to Baunsuni CHC, doctors declared him dead. The body was later kept at the facility for post-mortem examination.

Family Refuses Post-Mortem

Police arrived at the hospital and informed the family that, since this was an unnatural death, a post-mortem was mandatory under government law. They also explained that the procedure was essential to release the body officially. 

Despite repeated requests from both police and hospital authorities, the family members refused to comply and forcefully took the body away, citing their traditional practices.

Legal and Administrative Response

A case of Unnatural Death (UD) was registered at the Baunshuni Police Station following the incident. Hospital authorities reportedly explained to the family that conducting the post-mortem could also allow them to claim ex gratia assistance from the government. However, the family disregarded the advice and proceeded to perform the final rites as per their customs.

No official response could be obtained from the medical authorities regarding the matter.