Man Dies In Lightning Strike, Relatives Keep Body In Cow Dung Hoping He'll Be Alive Again
Yadav had gone cattle grazing with his wife, Shobha Devi on Saturday evening when lightning struck him. He collapsed at the spot.
A 45-year-old cattle breeder, Ramnath Yadav, died after being struck by lightning in Rampur village, Mahuadand block of Latehar district, police said on Sunday. Yadav had gone cattle grazing with his wife, Shobha Devi on Saturday evening when lightning struck him. He collapsed at the spot while Shobha Devi, who was also injured, was admitted to the hospital and is reported to be stable.
Mahuadand Police Station officer-in-charge Manoj Kumar said relatives initially took Yadav to the Community Health Centre (CHC) in Mahuadand, where doctors declared him dead. However, instead of informing police, the family brought the body home and kept it in a mound of cow dung, believing the effect of lightning would subside and he would come alive.
Police, Doctors Persuade Relatives
Doctors at the CHC alerted police, who reached the house and asked the family to hand over the body for post-mortem examination. “They would not relent and asked us to wait, as the dead would be alive soon,” Kumar said. Local administration officials and doctors also tried to convince the relatives, stressing that revival was impossible.
The standoff continued till midnight, after which police used mild force. The body was then sent to Latehar Sadar Hospital in the early hours of Sunday for a post-mortem.
Post-Mortem And Compensation
Police said the autopsy would be conducted on Sunday, after which an unnatural death case would be lodged. Relatives were also informed that a post-mortem was mandatory to claim compensation under the state government’s disaster management rules for deaths caused by lightning.
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