Bodies, believed to be of Covid patients, found floating in Yamuna

The locals and government officials have claimed that fear of cremation is leading to bodies being immersed in rivers

Image Courtesy:anandabazar.com

Dozens of unidentified and some partially burnt bodies have been found to be floating in the Yamuna river in Hamirpur, Uttar Pradesh, amid the second wave of the Coronavirus pandemic. According to an NDTV report, this form of disposal was probably adopted due to fear of spread of the virus during cremations.

Anoop Singh, the Additional Superintendent of Police, Hamirpur, told the HT that many families preferred to immerse them in the river as the last rites, instead of cremating them. He said, “Two of the bodies were partially burnt. We have informed the two districts and have also stepped-up vigil in our area.”

Dinesh Nigam, who is the councillor from Maudaha, Hamirpur Nagar Palika, told the HT that many people have succumbed to the virus in the second wave. He said, “In the second wave of the pandemic, people have died in large numbers in villages and people out of fear are not helping one another. In such a scenario, they are dumping their dead into the rivers.”

As per the government bulletin on Covid-19 deaths, Hamirpur has recorded one death on May 9, about 5 on May 8 and a total of 70 fatalities since the pandemic started.

An eyewitness and local, Siyaram, told IndiaToday, “People are cremating bodies on the fields. No government or local official has any record of how many people have been cremated or their bodies disposed of after dying due to Covid-19 in these areas.”

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