A 10-year-old boy in Uttar Pradesh’s Etah district brought his mother’s body by himself for a post-mortem examination on Thursday after she died while undergoing treatment for tuberculosis and HIV at a district hospital. With no relatives or neighbours accompanying him, the child sat beside the body for hours before local police intervened to help with the autopsy and funeral arrangements.
The boy’s father had died last year, also due to HIV. Speaking to The Times of India outside the mortuary, the child said stigma had isolated the family. “When Papa got AIDS, everyone stopped speaking to us. 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,” he said.
The 52-year-old woman had been admitted to Veerangana Avanti Bai Medical College in Etah and died on Wednesday night. The next morning, her son—accompanied only by hospital staff who placed the body on a stretcher—went to the post-mortem house. Hospital staff said the boy remained close to his mother’s covered body, visibly distraught and unwilling to leave until officials arrived.
After news of the situation spread, a few distant relatives eventually reached the mortuary, including an uncle who travelled from Kasganj, around 60 km away. Only then did the boy agree to rest.
Police said they stepped in after receiving information from local residents. Jaithra SHO Ritesh Kumar said, “We were told that a child was alone with the body. I immediately sent a sub-inspector and a constable. The boy had no one with him, so we arranged for the woman’s last rites.”
District health officials confirmed the case. Etah Chief Medical Officer Dr Rajendra Prasad said the woman had completed tuberculosis treatment in 2017 and had received government assistance available at the time. “She was cured and discharged. We provided all the benefits that the government offers. We are now reviewing the current circumstances,” he said.
