Phulbani: In a chilling rerun of the infamous Dana Majhi episode, the family of a minor girl who had died after drowning in a pond was seen dragging her body on a stretcher on the Phulbani main road after waiting inordinately for a hearse van that never showed up.
The sight of the heartbroken family pulling the stretcher with the girl’s body through the thoroughfare sent shockwaves through the area with a large number of onlookers gathering at the spot.
Family members continued to drag the stretcher on the main road until they crossed the SP’s office. On the orders of the SP, police intercepted the family members and seized the stretcher.
The victim was identified as Alibha (13), daughter of Chittaranjan Pradhan of Bedengapaju village under Khajuripada block. The incident occurred while the minor girl had gone to the village pond to take a bath.
The girl however went deep into the pond and drowned after she was unable to make her way back to safety. Family members pulled her out of the pond and rushed her to Phulbani district headquarters hospital.
Upon their arrival, doctors declared her brought dead and sent her body for post-mortem.
Meanwhile, a hearse was called to take the body to the cremation ground. Although the driver of the hearse answered the phone and said the hearse would reach, there was no sign of the vehicle until noon.
Irate family members and relatives put the body on a stretcher and dragged it on the main road to take it to their village. The incident spread tension in the area for a while. Police pacified the family members and brought the situation under control.
At the intervention of SP, a hearse van was finally called and the body was taken for the last rites. Family members claimed that although they were made to wait for more than five hours with the body, no hearse van turned up despite repeated calls. Availing no option, they were forced to carry the body on a stretcher, said the deceased girl’s uncle.
Meanwhile, Phulbani municipality executive officer Radha Mohan Behera said a patient would be provided a hearse van if they are requisitioned by the ADMO. But, there was no requisition, he added.
Meanwhile, the ADMO Mamata Mahapatra said she was on leave and it was the duty of the in-charge doctor to request for the hearse van. Medical authorities claimed the family members tried to take the body on a stretcher even after being told to wait for some time. PNN