Inadequate Police Response Forces Family to Transport Body on Rickshaw

By Express News Service

CUTTACK: In another distressing incident of administrative negligence, the lifeless body of a 78-year-old man was transported on a trolley-rickshaw from Ajana Matha to Mahanga Community Health Center (CHC) due to the alleged failure of local police to provide assistance in arranging a hearse vehicle for the family.

The distressing occurrence came to light after a video clip depicting the body being carried on the rickshaw went viral on social media platforms in Cuttack on Sunday. The deceased was identified as Biranchi Narayan Jena, a resident of Jankothi under the Nrutanga gram panchayat. According to his son, Chandrasekhar Jena, Biranchi had been mentally unstable and had gone missing seven days prior. Consequently, Chandrasekhar had filed a missing person report with the Mahanga police.

While the police allegedly took no immediate action to locate the missing man, some locals discovered Biranchi’s highly decomposed body in a nearby jungle near Ajanta Matha on Saturday and promptly informed the family. When the family members reported the discovery to the police, instead of swiftly arriving at the scene and initiating an investigation, the authorities purportedly directed them to take the body to Mahanga CHC for postmortem examination.

“Despite our efforts to secure a hearse service, none was available. Left with no other alternative, we were compelled to arrange a trolley-rickshaw for Rs 1,500 to transport my father’s body to the CHC, covering a distance of 6 km,” Chandrasekhar revealed.

This incident has raised significant questions concerning the police’s failure to promptly respond to the situation and the unavailability of a hearse service for the Dalit family. Officials from the Mahanga police station were unreachable for comment regarding the matter at hand.

Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp

<br /> CUTTACK: In yet another instance of administrative apathy, the body of a 78-year-old man was carried on a trolley-rickshaw from Ajana Matha to Mahanga CHC after local police allegedly instructed family members to take it to the hospital for postmortem without helping in arranging a hearse vehicle.</p><div class="RK8fjfpR"><a href="https://amzn.to/3YnbIti"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-105592 size-large" src="https://countylocalnews.com/article1/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/InShot_20240729_165414192-789x1024.jpg" alt="" width="789" height="1024" /></a></div> <p> The incident came to the fore after a video clip of the body being carried on the rickshaw went viral on social media here on Sunday. The deceased was identified as Biranchi Narayan Jena of Jankothi under Nrutanga gram panchayat. According to his son Chandrasekhar Jena, Biranchi was mentally unstable and had gone missing seven days back following which he filed a missing complaint with Mahanga police. </p> <p> While police allegedly took no step to trace the missing man, some locals found Biranchi’s highly decomposed body in a jungle near Ajanta Matha on Saturday and informed his family. When the family members took the matter to the police, the latter, instead of rushing to the spot and starting an investigation, allegedly asked them to take the body to Mahanga CHC for postmortem.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });</p> <p> “We tried for hearse service but it was not available. Finding no other option, we were forced to arrange a trolley-rickshaw at Rs 1,500 to carry my father’s body to the CHC travelling a distance of 6 km,” Chandrasekhar said.</p> <p> The incident has, meanwhile, raised questions as to why police did not turn up at the spot for investigation besides the unavailability of a hearse for the Dalit family. Officials of Mahanga police station were unavailable to comment on the matter. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp<br />