JAMSHEDPUR: A 35-year-old daily wager was forced to carry the body of his stillborn child in a cardboard box back to his home on Saturday after officials at the sub-divisional hospital in West Singhbhum district’s Chakradharpur allegedly denied him an ambulance, prompting the health department to announce a probe.The matter came to light when a video of the man carrying the body in a cardboard box went viral on social media.According to reports, Ramkrishna Hembram, of Bangarasai village, admitted his pregnant wife, Rita Tiriya, 28, to the hospital on March 5.Hospital officials said that during check-up on Saturday, staff could not detect foetal heartbeat, and referred Rita for an ultrasound. Before the procedure could be completed, she began to experience labour pain and delivered a stillborn baby.Hembram claimed that he sought an ambulance to transport the baby’s body to his home, about 12 km away, but officials did not approve his request. As the ward boys allegedly insisted to promptly remove the body, he arranged a discarded cardboard box from the hospital premises. Hembram put the body in the box, packed it in a grocery bag and returned home in an e-rickshaw.“The woman was kept at the hospital while the family was asked to complete the last rites of the baby,” said hospital in-charge, Dr Anshuman Sharma.“No request was made by the patient’s family for an ambulance. If there was any request, we would have arranged a Mamata Vahan (ambulance), which was available at the hospital.”Taking serious note of the matter, additional chief secretary (health), Ajoy Kumar Singh, said that a thorough probe will be conducted to investigate the allegations. “If the allegations are found to be true, stern action will be taken against those involved,” he told the media.A similar incident was reported from the Chaibasa Sadar Hospital in West Singhbhum on Dec 19 last year when a man was forced to carry the body of his four-month-old son in a plastic bag as he had no money to hire an ambulance. He got on a public bus to return home, about 70 km away.