Patna: Alleged lapses in the state’s emergency transport system came under light in Munger after the family of a road accident victim claimed they had to transport his body to their village in a private e-rickshaw because a govt hearse did not arrive despite repeated requests.The incident, which occurred after a road accident on Bariyarpur-Haveli Kharagpur stretch of NH-333, came to light after a video circulated on social media on Friday. TOI could not verify the authenticity of the video.According to the family, they waited for nearly five hours after the postmortem for a free govt hearse or 102 ambulance. They alleged that despite repeated calls to the hospital authorities, they were informed that the vehicle was “at another location” and would be sent after returning. As no vehicle arrived, they arranged a private e-rickshaw to take the body home.The deceased, Pintu Kumar (38), a resident of Kalyanpur under Bariyarpur police station area, was among three persons injured in a head-on collision between two motorcycles. Police said Bittu Kumar, son of Purushottam Mandal of Dhpari, and Suraj Kumar, son of Apeel Singh, died on the spot, while Pintu succumbed to his injuries during treatment at Munger Sadar Hospital.Pintu is survived by his wife, Sulekha Devi, and six children.Family members said after the postmortem at sadar hospital, they waited from around 8am to 1pm on Thursday for the govt hearse. They claimed they repeatedly contacted the hospital management but were told that the vehicle was unavailable.Unable to wait any longer, the family hired a private e-rickshaw for Rs1,500. According to them, the driver initially expressed reluctance but agreed after being shown the postmortem documents.The journey to Kalyanpur took around three hours after traffic congestion forced the vehicle to take a longer route, covering nearly 30km, the family said, adding people on the way were shocked to see how the body was being ferried.Pintu’s brother, Sanjay Das, questioned the functioning of the govt’s hearse service.“The govt’s hearse service meant for the poor completely failed. Despite pleading with officials and the hospital management for five hours, we got no help. We had to take the body on an e-rickshaw. If we had got the vehicle on time, we wouldn’t have faced this humiliation,” Das said.Munger civil surgeon Dr Raju said he became aware of the incident through media reports.“If the affected family submits a written complaint, an inquiry will be conducted to ascertain under what circumstances the hearse was not available. Action will be taken based on the inquiry report,” he said.
