ETAH: A 10-year-old boy in Etah district brought his mother’s body alone for a post-mortem examination on Thursday, after she died during treatment for tuberculosis and HIV at a district hospital. With no family members by his side and no help forthcoming from neighbours or relatives, the boy sat beside the corpse for hours, waiting, before local police stepped in to assist with arrangements for her autopsy and cremation.The boy’s father had died the previous year, also of HIV. “When Papa got AIDS, everyone stopped speaking to us,” the boy told TOI outside the post-mortem house. “I used to go to school when he was alive, but after his death, I had to stop. I looked after Mummy. She was being treated in Etah and was even taken to Kanpur and Lohia Hospital in Farrukhabad. My uncle didn’t even know she died.”The woman, 52, had been admitted to Veerangana Avanti Bai Medical College, Etah. She died on Wednesday night. On Thursday morning, her son — accompanied only by the hospital staff who placed the body on a stretcher — went to the post-mortem facility. People at the hospital said the boy stayed close to his mother’s covered remains, his eyes swollen from crying, refusing to leave until officials arrived.As word of the situation spread, a few distant relatives eventually appeared at the mortuary, including an uncle who came from Kasganj, about 60km away. It was only then that the boy allowed himself to rest.Local police intervened after being alerted by residents. Jaithra SHO Ritesh Kumar said, “We were informed that a child was alone with the body. I sent a sub-inspector and a constable to the spot. The boy had no one, and we arranged for her last rites.”District health officials acknowledged the case and confirmed that the woman had earlier completed treatment for tuberculosis in 2017, after which, they said, she had received all available aid. “She was cured and discharged. At that time, we gave her all the benefits that govt provides,” said Etah chief medical officer Dr Rajendra Prasad. “We are now reviewing the present situation.” (With inputs from Vikas Dubey in Etah)
