BHOPAL--A man was made to get off a bus he was travelling in after his ailing wife died inside the vehicle on 25 August. Thirty-seven-year-old Ram Singh Lodhi was then stranded along the highway in Madhya Pradesh with his old mother, a newborn, and the body of his wife.
Lodhi, who hails from Chhatarpur in Madhya Pradesh, was travelling to Damoh with his sick wife to get her treated. His wife didn't survive the journey and following her death, the conductor of the bus asked the passengers if they were comfortable travelling with a corpse on board. Some of them protested and Lodhi was immediately herded out with his family and the body of his wife.
Two lawyers stumbled upon a distraught Lodhi on their way and found him trying to feed the newborn with a spoon while his old mother watched over his wife's body.
They managed to arrange for a private ambulance and made sure Lodhi was able to return home.
The incident, close on the heels of a similar incident in Odisha where a man had to carry his wife's body on his shoulder, has sent shockwaves across Madhya Pradesh.
Lodhi was stranded along the road for over eight hours, with no one coming to his help. He said that two policemen has passed by too without getting him any help. They had stopped, enquired what happened and left.
The district administration has ordered an inquiry into the incident.
Lawyers Mrityunjay Hazari and Rajesh Patel had arranged for the body to be taken back to Chhatarpur. They were also the first to lodge complaints with officials. They said that they were shocked to find the family on the road side near Chainpura. It was raining, the man was crying, as he tried to feed the baby. A feet away, his wife's body lay cold, with his mother looking over it.
As it came to light, it has led to an outrage. Minister Kusum Mahdale, who is in-charge of Damoh district, told media persons on Saturday that she had spoken to officials and stern action would be taken in this regard.
Home minister Bhupendra Singh has said that bus driver and conductor would face action. The conductor and driver will be taken into custody, police sources said on Saturday. The permit of the bus would be cancelled too, the officials added.