Body of octogenarian COVID-19 victim cremated after hours- long protest by local residents in Kerala

    Kottayam (Ker), Jul 27 (PTI) The body of a COVID-19
victim whose cremation was marred by protests on Sunday, was
finally cremated here under tight police security late in the
day, officials said on Monday.
    The police also booked a municipal Councillor of the
BJP and 30 persons for preventing the cremation of the 83-year
old man at a public crematorium at Muttambalam, after locals
raised fears of the spread of coronavirus.
    Amid protests by local residents on Sunday evening,
public representatives including Kottayam MLA Thiruvanchoor
Radhakrishnan had intervened and the cremation of the elderly
person who died due to coronavirus infection was put on hold.
    However, the body was cremated at around 11.15 pm on
Sunday as per the COVID-19 protocol, officials said on Monday.
    Denying a dignified farewell to the COVID-19 victim, a
number of local residents had prevented the cremation, saying
they feared contracting the infection.
    The protesters had blocked the entrance of the
crematorium run by the Kottayam Municipality, alleging the
body was brought to the common crematorium after a church
refused to allow burial of its dead follower's body in its
cemetery.
    The incident happened on a day when Vice-President M
Venkaiah Naidu expressed anguish over stigmatising COVID-19
patients and denial of a dignified farewell to those who
succumb to the contagion.
    Naidu had on Sunday said such instances were uncalled
for and urged the local communities and society to prevent
their recurrence.
    Referring to incidents wherein people oppose providing
a space for burial of those who died of COVID-19, Naidu, in a
Facebook post, had said it was unacceptable and goes against
the age-old Indian tradition of being in solidarity with the
bereaved families. PTI COR TGB SA SS
PTI PTI

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)