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Ambulance Abandons Body, Family Carries Loved One Home
7 Feb
Summary
- Patient's body was transported in a make-shift cloth stretcher.
- Ambulance driver refused to drive the remaining 1.8 km.
- The road to the hamlet was motorable for other vehicles.
A distressing incident unfolded in Palghar, Maharashtra, where a private ambulance driver abandoned a deceased patient's body, compelling his relatives to transport it home themselves. The patient, Shailesh Magan Wagadada, who was suffering from severe respiratory distress and internal bleeding, was admitted to Vedanta Medical College Hospital on February 3 and passed away the same evening.
After reaching Chambharshet on Tilonda Road, the ambulance driver reportedly refused to proceed the remaining 1.8 km to Ambepada, Wagadada's hamlet. He claimed the non-tarred road was impassable for the vehicle. However, the Palghar Zilla Parishad clarified that the road, completed in 2024-25, is motorable for vehicles like Jeeps and pick-up vans. The relatives were then forced to carry the body in a makeshift cloth stretcher, known as a 'jholi', for the remaining distance.
An official from the Palghar Zilla Parishad suggested the driver might have been misinformed about the road's condition. Asphalting of the road has been proposed, indicating ongoing efforts to improve local infrastructure.
