Madhya Pradesh Government Hospital Sent Body Home In A Garbage Trolley

The body of a murder case victim was sent home after post-mortem in a trolley vehicle, which is otherwise used to collect garbage, of the Nagar Palika Parishad (a civic body), in Madhya Pradesh's Damoh, spotlighting the callousness of the authorities.

It happened despite two government-provided hearse vans lying unused at the Damoh district hospital.

Those vans, however, are reserved only for patients who die inside the hospital. The victim, it appears, did not meet the criterion.

In Hata town, the victim's family requested a hearse.

None came.

Instead, they were handed a municipal trolley.

"The government provides hearses to transport the deceased home. Families just need to call with the required documents," Civil Surgeon Prahlad Patel said.

The ground reality was different.

"We faced immense difficulty. The police requested a vehicle, and this is what we got," said Chandan Singh, a relative.

This is not the first time Madhya Pradesh has witnessed such indignity.

In July, NDTV reported that over 150 new Mukti Vahan hearses, meant to serve the poor with dignity, were parked in a muddy field in Bhopal's Misrod.

They have been rusting under rain and sun, waiting for a "grand political launch."

Training was done, tenders cleared, money spent. But the dead continued to wait.

When NDTV reported on the new hearse vehicles parked in Bhopal for three months, they were hurriedly dispatched to districts.

In July, in Sironj, Vidisha, a father tied the body of his 15-year-old son to his motorcycle and drove through the rain. The mother walked silently behind.

Their request for a hearse van at the local hospital was met with a: "There is none."

Earlier this year in Maihar, police were caught on camera dumping a corpse into a garbage truck. Outrage followed. Promises were made. But nothing changed.

For decades, stories have repeated across districts, with bodies carried on shoulders, tied to two-wheelers, piled onto handcarts, stuffed in sacks.

The stories continue to repeat.

The Shav Vahan Yojana was supposed to fix this.

In April this year, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav announced the rollout of high-tech Mukti Vahan hearses: air-conditioned, fitted with fumigation machines, stretchers, fire extinguishers, and even transparent windows for families to bid farewell.

A toll-free helpline (1080) was promised for 24x7 service.