Daijiworld Media Network - Etah
Etah, Jan 16: In a deeply distressing incident highlighting social apathy and stigma, a 10-year-old boy was left to carry his mother’s body alone for post-mortem examination at a government hospital in Uttar Pradesh’s Etah district.
The tragedy unfolded after the boy’s 52-year-old mother died on Wednesday while undergoing treatment for tuberculosis and HIV at the district hospital. With no relatives or neighbours coming forward to help, the teary-eyed child accompanied the body to the post-mortem facility on Thursday, assisted only by hospital staff.
Photographs of the boy sitting on the floor beside his mother’s body for hours have since gone viral, drawing widespread anguish and condemnation. Local police reached the hospital after being alerted to the situation and later helped arrange the autopsy and last rites.
According to reports, the woman was admitted to Veerangana Avanti Bai Medical College in Etah. The boy’s father had died last year due to HIV, a diagnosis that reportedly led to the family being socially ostracised. The child told local media that people stopped speaking to them after his father’s illness came to light, forcing him to abandon his schooling to care for his ailing mother.
“I looked after mummy. She was treated in Etah and also taken to Kanpur and Lohia Hospital in Farrukhabad. My uncle didn’t even know she had died,” the boy was quoted as saying.
District health officials stated that the woman had earlier been treated for tuberculosis in 2017 and was provided all possible medical assistance. The administration has said it is reviewing the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Police officials said the child refused to leave his mother’s body until authorities arrived. “We were informed that a child was alone with the body. I sent a sub-inspector and a constable to the spot. The boy had no one, so we arranged for her last rites,” Jaithra SHO Ritesh Kumar said.
Later, a few distant relatives from Kasganj, about 60 km away, arrived at the mortuary, after which the post-mortem was completed.
Meanwhile, the child has alleged that he now fears for his life, claiming that relatives are threatening him in a bid to grab his land. He also alleged that despite being aware of his mother’s illness, none of the relatives extended any support to the family.