The National Human Rights Commission on Friday issued a notice to the Odisha government over two shocking incidents this week where family members were forced to walk with the bodies of their loved ones.
Taking suo motu cognisance of media reports, the NHRC said in a statement that the incidents had raised “serious questions of violation of human rights of the two deceased persons.” While issuing a notice to the government through its Chief Secretary, the apex human rights panel asked for a report on the incidents within four weeks. In the first incident reported on Thursday, a man was forced to carry the body of his wife for 10 km as the district hospital at Bhawanipatna in Kalahandi refused to provide an ambulance. Dana Majhi had told the hospital authorities that he could not afford to hire a vehicle to transport the body of his wife, who had died of tuberculosis. The second incident, reported on Friday, was about authorities breaking the hip of a deceased woman, wrapping the body in an old sheet and tying it to a pole to carry it.
In both the cases, the NHRC said there had been undignified treatment to the deceased.
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