Overview
- A tribal father said he had only ₹100 and used a plastic bag to carry his four-month-old son’s body roughly 70–80 km by bus and foot after treatment at Chaibasa Sadar Hospital.
- Hospital officials said a dedicated hearse was away in Manoharpur and that the family was asked to wait, while the civil surgeon noted ambulances typically do not transport bodies and fees are common for hearses.
- The district administration opened an investigation, and officials said the family left the hospital before a vehicle could arrive, a point the father disputes.
- Jharkhand’s health minister announced a plan to procure four mortuary vehicles for every district hospital, saying an inquiry indicated the family departed without waiting and that one vehicle was en route as another was nonfunctional.
- The case drew political condemnation and renewed scrutiny of emergency transport in remote areas, with critics citing repeated failures of 108 ambulance responsiveness despite public spending.