The police department and civic authorities in Karnataka’s Haveri hit a new low, when they transported the dead body of a journalist in a vehicle used for garbage disposal.
Mounesh Potharaj, a journalist employed with a private new channel, was killed in a road accident around 8 am on Sunday. He was coming to Haveri from Sirsi on work when he lost control of his motorcycle and hit a tree. He died on the spot, claimed police officers.
Following his death, when the dead body had to be shifted to the government hospital in Hanagal in Haveri, instead of providing an ambulance, police arranged for a tractor used by the civic authorities for garbage disposal.
When questioned, K Parashuram, Superintendent of Police, Haveri at first defended his department, citing their inability to get any other vehicle led to them to transport the body in a garbage tractor.
“The police department doesn’t own any vehicle to transport dead bodies. The ambulances will not transport dead bodies unless post mortem is conducted. So, the police had to arrange for a vehicle from the spot. Because today (Sunday) was Sankranti festival, police were not able to arrange for any vehicle. Then they contacted the civic authorities and they dispatched a tractor,” the SP claimed.
The SP didn’t answer the question about why the police jeep wasn’t used to transport the body instead of the garbage truck.
Talking to the media, Mounesh’s older brother Madadeva said that not only did the civic authorities transport his remains in a garbage truck, but also delayed the post-mortem demanding a bribe of Rs 700. “I can’t explain how shattered our family is. It was a shock to hear that he had died, but inhumanity from the authorities and hospital authorities have left shattered,” he said.
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