Another incident of man carrying corpse in Odisha, 2 officials suspended

Two health officials were suspended in Odisha's Angul district in connection with an incident in which a man had to carry the body of his 5-year-old daughter on shoulder from a government hospital after she died at the medical facility.

The sub-divisional medical officer (SDMO) and senior medical officer have been placed under suspension by the state health department in connection with the incident that took place at Pallahara hospital in Angul, district collector Anil Samal said today.

A staff nurse of the hospital was also suspended yesterday for alleged dereliction of duty, while a junior hospital manager had been placed under suspension and a security guard deployed at the hospital had been disengaged earlier, the SDMO said.

The incident, akin to the episode involving a tribal man Dana Majhi who had to carry his wife's body on shoulder for 10 km from a government hospital at Bhawanipatna in Kalahandi district last year after failing to get a hearse, took place on Tuesday. The action by the health department came after the incident, which went viral on social media and local news channels, triggered widespread criticism.

The man, identified as Gati Dhibar of Pechamundi village said he had requested the hospital authorities for help to take his daughter's body from the hospital to the native place, about 15 km away but failed to get any help. The minor girl died allegedly while undergoing treatment at the healthcare facility on Tuesday.

The incident took place despite the state government last year launching 'Mahaprayan' scheme for providing facilities at district headquarters hospital and medical colleges to carry bodies of patients after death from the hospital to their home.