Father forced to carry dead daughter's body more than 15km because he could not afford hearse

Security guard and junior hospital manager suspended following public outcry

Gati Dhibar, right, had to carry his daughter many miles to his house after he was refused a hearse (Suparno Satpathy/Twitter)

An Indian father has been forced to carry the body of his dead daughter over 15km to her funeral.

Gati Dhibar, a father from Pechamundi village in the Odisha region of India, attempted to carry his five-year-old daughter’s body home after she died at a local health centre.

Video footage showed Mr Dhibar walking along the busy road as buses and motorcycles drove past him, cradling his daughter’s body in a brown blanket.

An investigation was immediately launched by Odisha authorities to determine why Mr Dhibar could not secure a hearse. The security guard and junior manager at the hospital have since been suspended indefinitely, officials said.

“Following the dead body-carrying incident in Pechamundi, the sub-collector visited the area and spoke to the family members of the deceased,” the local council said in a statement. “We shall ensure nothing undignified happens with any dead body.”

In August last year, the story of a man forced to carry his deceased wife home on his shoulders for 10km caused outrage across India.

Hospital staff allegedly refused to provide transport for her body to the family home in Melghara.

At the time Odisha’s Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, said: "We are looking into this matter. We will take action. Fresh ambulances will be ordered." However critics of the government have said the latest incident shows nothing significant has been done to improve the situation.