Authorities on Wednesday ordered the removal of two doctors posted at a primary health centre after a heart-wrenching video surfaced online showing a young man taking his sister’s body home from the facility on a motorcycle.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Shishir Kumar Verma said after the video went viral on social media, an investigation was carried out and action was taken against the superintendent of the health centre located in Bidhuna, Dr Avichal Pandey, and Dr Kriparam, who was posted there.

The decision was taken on instructions from Uttar Pradesh Health Minister and Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak, Verma said.

Giving details about the incident, the chief medical officer said 20-year-old Anjali of the Naveen Basti area of the district was allegedly electrocuted while using a water-heating immersion rod on Tuesday.

She was brought to the community health centre, where doctors declared her dead, following which her family members decided to take the body home without a post-mortem examination, Mr Verma added.

Anjali’s brother Ayush climbed on the motorcycle with her body tied to his back using a dupatta. His other sister also climbed on the two-wheeler and held the body from behind, the official said.

Pathat took to the social media platform ‘X’ to inform about the action taken against the doctors.

In a post in Hindi, he wrote: “Taking cognisance of the viral video of a body being taken away on a bike in CHC, Bidhuna, of Auraiya district, I have given orders to the CMO to remove the superintendent and the doctors related to the case from the CHC along with an adverse entry.” “Along with this, I have also directed to ensure ambulance facilities for patients in all CHCs and PHCs,” Pathak added.

However, CHC Superintendent Dr Pandey, who was relieved from his post, said he was unaware of this incident. “If the relatives of the patient had asked for an ambulance to take the body, it would have been provided to them,” he added.

The main opposition Samajwadi Party targeted the state government over the issue.

“The funeral of health services under the Yogi government, brother takes the dead body of his sister home on a bike,” it said on ‘X’.

“The news of a sister’s dead body being carried home on a bike outside the CHC in Bidhuna of Auraiya is a very sad and shameful incident… The administration and the health department of the BJP government, which makes tall claims of development, could not arrange for an ambulance. Shameful,” it added.

The Kerala government on Wednesday announced that it would provide aid of Rs 7 crore towards the rehabilitation of rain-affected regions of Himachal Pradesh, exemplifying inter-state cooperation during times of crisis.

The decision was taken by a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Thiruvananthapuram.

Addressing a press conference, Mr Vijayan said the allocated amount would be drawn from the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund for aiding the rehabilitation endeavours of the Himachal Pradesh Government.

Recent incessant rainfall in Himachal Pradesh has had a devastating impact on several parts of the Himalayan state, leaving a trail of destruction.

Ukraine’s military spy agency claimed responsibility for the assassination of a Russia-backed lawmaker with a car bomb in the occupied eastern city of Luhansk on Wednesday, an operation it said it conducted with local resistance forces.

Mikhail Filiponenko, a lawmaker in a Russia-installed local assembly, had been active in Luhansk’s pro-Russian separatist movement since 2014. He had served as one of the top commanders in the army of the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic.

The agency said Filiponenko was eliminated in an early morning explosion. He died at the site, it added on Telegram messenger.

It accused him of organising dungeons for civilians and prisoners of war in Luhansk region.

“Filiponenko himself brutally tortured people,” agency said, giving no details.

In September, Filiponenko was elected to the regional parliament in a vote that drew widespread international condemnation.

Bomb blasts targeting senior Russian-installed officials in occupied parts of Ukraine have been a regular occurrence since Russia ordered tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in Feb. 2022.

Luhansk is one of four Ukrainian regions Russia claims to have annexed since the start of its invasion, something Kyiv and its Western allies strongly reject.