New Delhi: A man had to roam around for several hours with his wife's body in an ambulance as his landlord allegedly did not allow to keep it at his rented accommodation in Karkardooma village in east Delhi.
Chhote Lal, who runs a tea shop, had admitted his wife Anju, who was 35, to Hedgewar Hospital two-three days ago after she complained of high fever.
She died in the hospital on Monday, and it was suspected to be a case of "chikungunya", police said on Tuesday.
When the grieving husband took her body to his rented home in Karkardooma, his landlord allegedly didn't allow him to keep it there.
He then tried to keep the body in the lane where his house is situated but some neighbours allegedly objected saying children in the locality could get scared.
However, Babloo, Lal's landlord told police he helped him with money so that he could get an "AC ambulance to keep the body".
He said Chhote Lal stays on the third floor of the house in a single room and the body would have started decaying had it been kept in the cramped space with no ventilation.
He told police that he had given Rs 2,000 to Chhote Lal and got an AC ambulance arranged for him to preserve the body for the night before cremation.
He also tried to take back the body to the hospital where he was allegedly told that they couldn't keep it there.
"With no option left, Chhote Lal then kept roaming with the body of his wife in the ambulance for close to four hours before he was spotted around midnight by the police beat staff near the Cross River Mall who came to know about his plight.
"When he revealed that he wasn't allowed to keep his wife's body at his rented accommodation, the staff called up one Bhanwar Singh, a businessman residing in the area around 12.30 am," said a senior police officer.
"Singh extended help to Chhote Lal and the body was kept at his house overnight. Some policemen and Singh's staff later helped Lal arrange for the last rites of his wife who was cremated in this morning," he said.
