Claim
Two disturbing images showing a man carrying a woman's body in Odisha, after breaking it from the hip and packing it in a sack due to lack of available services have resurfaced as recent, amidst the deadly second wave of COVID-19 in India. One such viral facebook post reads, “Heartbreaking photo, yes you are seeing image from Odisha, which has the most luxurious temples in the world. Son and his father breaking the dead body to bring her in village from hospital as ambulance is not available. Ambulance for cows not for humans, this is digital India.” (Original text in Hindi: #हृदयविदारक_तस्वीर जो आप देख रहे हैं यह तस्वीरें दुनिया में सबसे ज्यादा, आलीशान मन्दिरों वाले #उड़ीसा की है, इस औरत की लाश को तोड़ मरोड़ कर इसलिए बोरी में डाला जा रहा है ताकि पिता और पुत्र, #लाश को कंधे पर ढोकर आसानी से गांव ले जा सके क्योंकि हॉस्पिटल में एंबुलेंस उपलब्ध नहीं है,ये #डिजिटल इंडिया है,गायों के लिए एम्बुलेंस इंसानो के लिए कुछ नही।)
Fact
The incident had occurred near Soro railway station in Odisha where two men had to carry the body of an old woman after she was run over by a goods train in 2016, as reported by India Today. 80-year-old Salamani Behera's body had to be taken to the Balasore district hospital for post-mortem, but no ambulance was available as reported by The Indian Express. An auto driver was hired, who charged a higher fare from them to carry the corpse to the district hospital.