**Disturbing Incident in Damoh: Murder Victim’s Body Transported in Garbage Trolley Due to Lack of Hearse Van**

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): In a troubling incident at Hatta town, Damoh district, the body of a murder victim was transported home in a garbage trolley after postmortem, owing to the unavailability of a hearse van at the block level.

The deceased, Devendra Lodhi, cousin of the sarpanch of Shikarpura village in Patera block, was murdered on Thursday. Following the postmortem, his family requested a hearse van to carry the body home. However, they were allegedly informed that no hearse van was available.

This has raised serious concerns, especially since the state government had launched 149 hearse vans across Madhya Pradesh on July 28 this year. Unfortunately, these vans are only stationed at district hospitals.

In Damoh, the district hospital has two hearse vans, but they are reserved exclusively for patients who pass away within hospital premises. As Lodhi’s death occurred outside the hospital, he did not qualify for the use of these vans.

Speaking to Free Press, SDM (Hatta) Rakesh Singh Markam acknowledged the issue. “Hearse vans are available at district hospitals, but not at block level. So, problems arise for people in carrying bodies. I will look into the matter and talk to CMHO as well as civil surgeon,” he said.

This incident highlights the urgent need to improve hearse van availability at block levels to prevent distressing situations like this in the future.
https://www.freepressjournal.in/bhopal/body-sent-in-garbage-trolley-after-post-mortem-in-mps-damoh