New Delhi: A civil hospital in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhatarpur district has come under fire after a deceased woman’s body was allegedly sent home in a municipal garbage collection vehicle, after the family failed to arrange a hearse. The incident has highlighted a long-standing absence of adequate mortuary transport at the facility despite repeated demands for a dedicated vehicle for the purpose, reported The Indian Express.The woman, who has been identified as Rukhsana Khan, had been untraceable since July 4 before her remains were found at a garbage dump site near the Surajpur road area of August 5. The body was sent to the Bada Malhera Civil Hospital for a mandatory autopsy after the investigation revealed foul play.Her husband, Babalesh Ahirwar, told Indian Express that the family waited for a proper hearse for several hours after the post-mortem, but was only offered a tractor-trolley normally used for garbage pickup. “Every person wants dignity, if not in life then at least after death. It was very painful to see my wife’s body being taken in a garbage vehicle,” he said.Hospital officials did not refute the claim that they do not have a dedicated hearse. The facility’s block medical officer (BMO) Hemant Maraiya told Indian Express that the concern has been raised in several district-level meetings, however, the necessary budgetary allocation has not been provided.“We don’t have a hearse van so we depend on the Nagar Parishad. During a recent District Health Society (DHS) meeting, we asked for a hearse van. I hope that we will get it in the future as this will do a lot of good for the public at large,” Maraiya said.District authorities in Chhatarpur have since ordered a formal inquiry into the matter. Appropriate steps would be taken once the circumstances and facts of the lapse have been verified.