An elderly woman in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut had to walk for hours carrying her son’s body on a cart as she could not find a hearse vehicle to the crematorium. A video that went viral on social media showed the woman, along with her younger son, carrying the body on a cart, requesting people to help them conduct his last rites.
The deceased, Raju, who was allegedly a drunkard, was found dead near a wine shop on Tuesday. His body remained there for hours before his mother and younger brother came looking for him.
When they could not find a vehicle to carry Raju’s body to the crematorium, they kept it on a cart and dragged it around the area. They sought financial help from passers-by to take Raju’s body to the crematorium and perform his last rites.
When no help came their way, the dejected mother-son duo approached a nearby police post for help. Police sub-inspector Amit Kumar Malik helped the family by raising funds and conducting the last rites of the deceased.
According to the police, the family is from Etawah district and shifted to Meerut to find labour work.
After the video went viral, Meerut’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Akhilesh Mohan ordered a probe into why there was no hearse vehicle available to take the dead to the crematorium.
“In all hospitals in our district, hearse vehicles are available. If a case like this comes up, we make the vehicle available to them (family). I have ordered an inquiry into this incident and we will speak after we get a report,” Dr Mohan said.