Denied ambulance, man carries nephew's body on bike in Machilipatnam

MACHILIPATNAM : In a heartbreaking incident, a person was forced to carry the body of his 14-year-old nephew on a motorcycle in the absence of an ambulance service in Machilipatnam on Monday.

Naveen, an 8th Class student at Guduru ZP High School, drowned at Manginapudi Beach in Machilipatnam on Sunday. According to reports, local officials remained unresponsive as an ambulance was needed to shift his body to the mortuary. Clueless and helpless, Naveen's uncle took it upon himself to shift his body to the mortuary.

The man carrying Naveen's body in his arms while pillion-riding a motorcycle made for a heart-rending scene. A picture of this episode, which highlighted befalling the family and the apathy of the government officials in equal measure, has been going viral on social media.

The district authorities and the operator of the ambulance services drew flak for their insensitive behaviour during the time of unexpected strife and grief for the family.

Police, maternal uncle rubbish apathy claims

Reacting to the campaign in a section of social media, the Machilipatnam police have trashed the allegations that the bereaved family members of Naveen Kumar were left to fend for themselves in shifting the body as the officials, including police, did not provide them any help.

In a statement, the police sought to clarify that police teams continuously carried out search operations on the beach since the time the boy went missing and even resumed their efforts the next morning. They claimed that the family members, shocked and grief-stricken, forgot to inform the police after the body was traced. Police teams stopped them on the way and the body was later taken to the Machilipatnam Government Hospital in a vehicle provided by them.

Describing the accusations and the social media campaigns based on them as baseless, they warned with strict action for spreading canards while hiding the facts.

Balakrishna, the maternal uncle of the deceased, also trashed the allegations, saying that the police and the government officials had extended their help throughout. He clarified that they had decided to carry the body on the motorcycle from the beach to the main road as it was not possible for any vehicle to enter the narrow stretch. He appealed to everyone to not use the tragedy in their family for petty politics.