AP police come to rescue of Koraput man walking with wife's body

Nabarangpur: A 35-year-old man from Koraput district walked several kilometres with his wife's body on his shoulder after she died in an auto-rickshaw while returning from a hospital in Andhra Pradesh.

Policemen spotted Samulu Pangi and arranged an ambulance to take the body of his wife Ide Guru (30) home in Sorada village of Pottangi block.

Pangi had admitted his ailing wife to a hospital in Sangivalasa in Visakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh. However, the doctors there said she was not responding to treatment and advised him to take her back home, around 100 km away.

Pangi said he hired an auto-rickshaw for returning to his village but Guru died midway near Vizianagaram. The auto driver then refused to continue the journey and dropped them on Chelluru Ring Road before leaving the spot.

Finding no other way, Pangi started walking towards home, which was still around 80 km away, carrying his wife's body on his shoulder.

After some time, alerted by local people, Rural Circle Inspector T V Tirupati Rao and Gantyada sub-inspector Kiran Kumar stopped him.

Initially, the Andhra Pradesh policemen were finding it difficult to understand what Pangi was saying due to language problem. Later, one person, who understood Odia, narrated the incident to police.

The police officials, after ascertaining what had happened, arranged for an ambulance that took Pangi and his wife's body to his village.

While Pangi thanked the police for their help, the locals appreciated the policemen for their timely response.

This incident is a reminder of a 2016 episode in Kalahandi district when another man, Dana Majhi, walked for around 12 km carrying the body of his wife on his shoulder after being denied a hearse by a hospital.

The incident hit international headlines and caused embarrassment for Odisha government.