NHRC issues notice to Odisha govt over carrying of bodies

TWO DAYS after Dana Majhi, a tribal from Odisha’s Kalahandi district, carried his wife’s body on his shoulders from the district headquartershospitalafterfailing to get an ambulance, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Friday issued a notice to the state government, terming the incident a gross violation of human rights.

The notice came even as CM Naveen Patnaik called the incident “distressing”. “We have ordered a probe. Stringent action will be taken against those responsible,” he said on sidelines of Odisha Investors’ Meet in Bengaluru.

Taking suo motu notice of reports in The Indian Express and several TV channels, the NHRC also expressed anguish over the way an old woman’s body was slung on a bamboo pole in Soro. The NHRC has given the state four weeks to submit a report.

An NHRC spokesperson said: “Right to life of a person under Article 21 of the Constitution of India would also mean that his body is treated with respect and the last rites are performed with dignity. The above incidents have taken place, reportedly, in spite of there being a scheme, Mahaprayana, offering free transportation of bodies from government hospitals to homes of the deceased.”

Meanwhile, Majhi could not perform last rites of his wife Friday as officials called him to the district headquarters, where he was taken from one office to another in the name of fact-finding. He was later given Rs 5,000. Subcollectorsukantatripathysaidinquiry into the incident could not have been completed without Majhi’s version. In a press meet Friday, Kalahandi collector Brundha D said action would be taken against a staff nurse and a guard who were on duty at the hospital when Majhi took the body.