Man Forced To Ferry Father's Corpse On A Motorcycle After Being Unable To Find An Ambulance

A man was reportedly forced to carry his father's corpse on a motorcycle after being unable to find an ambulance in the Barabanki district of Uttar Pradesh, India.

The deceased, identified as Shivshankar Gautam, 55, reportedly suffered from an acute case of tuberculosis. When his health deteriorated on Monday, March 21, his family members transported him to a Community Health Center (CHC) in Haidergarh for immediate treatment. Even though the doctors at the health center tried their best to save his life, his condition worsened and he subsequently succumbed to his disease's complications, News18 reported.

After Gautam's death, the family of the deceased tried to find an ambulance to transport the corpse back to their village in order to perform his final rites. However, even though they dialed 108 several times, the number for emergency services in India, they were told that there was no ambulance available in the area to transport the corpse to their village.

After being unable to find a vehicle to ferry the corpse, Gautam's son finally resorted to asking one of his friends from his village to bring a motorbike to the hospital. The deceased's son reportedly sat in the back seat of the motorcycle while straddling his father's body in front of him in a seated position, as they transported the remains back to their home village.

While the corpse was being ferried back on the bike, the gruesome sight caught the attention of bystanders who took photos and later shared them online. The pictures of the incident have since gone viral on social media platforms, raising questions about the government's health care facilities.

After the pictures went viral online, Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Ramji Verma assured that hearse cars are normally available in the districts for the convenience of the common people.

"I will probe the incident and would like to ascertain under what circumstances the hearse car was not made available by the concerned person. If any lapse is found on the part of the health staff, then action will be ensured against them," Verma stated.