Haldwani: The people of Tamoli Gvir Berinag, a nondescript village in Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh, were treated with not only an unusual but shocking sight as well on Friday. Shivani, a native of the village, who relocated to Haldwani along with her younger brother Abhishek, 20, to support her family with money through a moderate job, brought the body of her brother tied to a passenger vehicle's rooftop not in a manner akin to ferrying deceased packed in a proper manner as she was short of money.
According to Shivani, she did not have enough money to take her brother's body to the village in an ambulance, so she had no option but to tie the brother's body to the roof of the vehicle and carry it home. Both the siblings worked at a private company in Haldwani.
Due to poverty, Shivani, a resident of Tamoli Gvir Berinag, Pithoragarh, came to work in Haldwani. She along with her brother was working at a company in Halduchaur for the last six months. They had to support their parents, one brother and one sister back home.
As the father was old, he eked out a humble living by farming in the mountainous area, Shivani asked her 20-year-old brother Abhishek to work at the same company. Two months ago, Abhishek got a job at a company located in Halduchaur. Both the siblings started working there and both were living in separate rooms in Halduchaud.
Shivani said on Friday morning, she and her brother attended the office. During this time, her brother took leave from the company due to a headache and went back to his room. When the young woman returned from duty, she called her brother to have food.
Abhishek said that he would take food after some time. After a few hours, when he did not come, Shivani called him again. When Abhishek did not pick up the phone, Shivani reached Abhishek's room but did not find him there. Instead, she sensed a strange smell in the room. His scooter was also not there. Shivani suspected something untoward.
Shivani informed the police immediately. Police found Abhishek lying unconscious on the road with the scooter before the health centre located in Halduchaud. The police took Abhishek to Sushila Tiwari Hospital where doctors declared him dead.
When Shivani talked to the ambulance operators, some asked for Rs 10, 000 and some asked for Rs 12,000 to take the body to her village. The postmortem of the body was done on Saturday. On the other hand, after getting the information at home, the relatives also reached Haldwani from Berinag. The police got the postmortem done and handed over the body to the family.
Chief Medical Officer Nainital Harischandra Pant said no one has asked the woman to take the body in a private vehicle. According to him, it was the decision of the family members of the deceased to take the body in the manner which they preferred.
