WATCH: Family puts ailing man in freezer box to wait for his death

In a shocking incident, a 74-year-old man was rescued from a freezer box after he was allegedly put into it by his family, waiting for him to die.

The incident reported in the Tamil Nadu state of India has caused outrage after a critically-ill man was put into a box used to store bodies soon after he was discharged from a hospital.

The man was found alive by an executive when he came to take back the freezer box, which had been taken by the 74-year-old’s brother from an agency. The executive raised an alarm and tried to arrange help, officials said.

A disturbing video shows the 74-year old man gasping for breath inside the box. The man – identified as Balasubramania Kumar – has been admitted to a hospital.

Officials probing the incident said the 74-year-old man was recently discharged from a hospital in a critical condition. However, his brother had asked for a freezer box as he allegedly waited for him to die.

Read More: Mysterious floating ‘coffin’ spotted in river causes stir 

An executive of the agency – that gave the family the freezer box – raised an alarm seeing the man alive, leading to the man’s rescue.

Deivalingam, an advocate who provides free vehicles to carry bodies, also rushed to the man’s home, hearing about the incident. “The man was kept inside the whole night. The agency executive got panicked and alerted me. I was told by the family – ‘The spirit has not left and we are waiting’.

The police said that a case of negligent conduct and endangering life has been registered.