The father sat at the bus stop with the baby's body in his lap for nearly five hours.
A tribal family in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur had to board a bus carrying the corpse of their newborn in a bag after authorities at a government hospital allegedly refused to give them a hearse.
The family said they had to wait at the bus stand for nearly five hours with the bag in the father's lap because they could not afford any other means of transportation.
The administration in Jabalpur has, however, claimed the child was alive and had been discharged at the family's request.
The family is from Sahajpuri in Dindori district, about 160 km from Jabalpur. Jamani Maravi gave birth to the baby in the district hospital on June 13. Because the baby was weak and was suffering from breathing issues, the family was referred to the Jabalpur Medical College on June 14. The family says the child died during treatment yesterday.
Jamani's elder sister said, "We had got Jamani admitted to the district hospital and the baby was referred to Jabalpur Medical College the next day. The baby had trouble breathing. Yesterday, we were told the child had died and we were given the body at 5 pm. We requested the doctor to give us a hearse but our request was turned down."
"Since we are poor, we could not arrange any other means of transportation. We kept the baby's body in a bag and went to the bus stop," she added.
The baby's father, Sunil Dhurve, said private vehicles were asking for Rs 4,000-5,000 to take the body to their village and they could not afford the amount.
Jabalpur Chief Medical And Health Officer Dr Sanjay Mishra, however, said, "The baby was being treated in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Jabalpur Medical College. The family requested that the child be discharged and insisted on it even after the doctor tried to make them understand that it was not advisable."
"The child was alive when the discharge was given and the medical college's file has also recorded a Discharge On Request. It was hot when the baby was discharged and it may have died due to dehydration later. However, since the matter has been brought to our attention, we will get it investigated," he added.
This incident is one of many in Madhya Pradesh. In one such case in 2021, the body of a 70-year-old man was taken to the cremation ground on a hand cart after his family was denied a hearse.