Ostracised in death: No one at Odisha man's funeral over autopsy by 'low caste' doctor

Villagers were allegedly unhappy about the autopsy performed on the man after his death. Hence, they stayed away from the funeral.

The body of a man had to be carried on a bike for cremation after his relatives refused to attend the funeral, fearing being ostracised since an autopsy was performed by a doctor from a lower caste. The incident was reported from Odisha’s Bargarh district.

Muchunu Sandha, a daily wager, was suffering from a liver ailment. As his health worsened, he was shifted to a private hospital. However, he died during treatment there, following which an autopsy was performed on him. His body was taken to his native village in an ambulance on Friday.

In the village, Muchunu’s body lay inside his home as his pregnant wife, three-year-old daughter and his mother sat around it, sobbing. No one from his village, nor his relatives, turned up for the last rites. This is when Sunil Behera, the husband of the gram panchayat sarpanch, decided to carry the body for cremation on his bike.

Sunil had helped collect money to pay for the ambulance which brought Muchunu’s body to the village from the hospital.

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Talking to India Today TV, Sunil Behera said, “He was unwell for a long time. He died at the hospital while being shifted to the emergency ward. We collected around Rs 8,000 and paid for the ambulance.”

However, Sunil evaded questions about ostracism and said the village has a rule. “Villagers are unhappy about the autopsy. They do not come for the last rites of those on whom autopsies are done. As the family has no male members, I had to take the body to the crematorium on my bike,” he said.