Covid-19 | UP
Shocking video shows Covid patient's body being thrown by relatives in river in UP
Balrampur/IBNS: A video of a body being thrown in a river in Uttar Pradesh has surfaced reminding the administration that the grim situation is still not over as the practice of dumping bodies of coronavirus patients in rivers or leaving them in shallow graves near river banks is still continuing even as the infections as well as deaths across the country have dropped to considerable levels.
It is not clear whether it is fear or taboo surrounding coronavirus that is prompting relatives to dispose of the bodies of their dead in haste instead of bidding the deceased farewell with a decent funeral.
As news of hundreds of bodies buried in shallow graves by the Ganges and many of them floating in rivers shocked the nation and made headlines across the world, the Centre ordered several northern states to ensure that dead bodies are not dumped in rivers.
In order to stop people from the practice, the Centre wrote to states to increase patrol along the river banks.
An NDTV report said that people could be dumping the bodies in rivers due to poverty or lack of awareness.
The incident that has come to light in the video recently took place on May 28.
In the video, two men, one of them clad in a PPE suit, are seen lifting the body on the bridge over Rapti river in Balrampur. The man in the PPE kit was apparently trying to take the body out of the bag in which it was brought.
The Chief Medical Officer of Balrampur later confirmed that the body was indeed of a Covid patient, and the relatives were trying to dump it in the river.
A case has been filed against the relatives and the body has been handed back to them.
"Preliminary investigations have revealed that the patient was admitted to hospital on May 25, and he died three days later on May 28. As per Covid protocol, the body was handed over to his relatives. Preliminary investigations reveal that the relatives threw the body into the river. We have filed a case and strict action will be taken," said Balrampur Chief Medical Officer VB Singh.
Hundreds of bodies, dumped in the rivers, had washed up on the banks of river Ganges in several parts of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
As many as 71 bodies were recovered in Buxar district from the river bank, media had reported.
Thousands of bodies were found buried in sandbanks of Ganga, which local administration said, could have been washed up during the high tide.
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