The body of a police officer was lying on a road for hours after relatives and attendants fled the spot when he died of COVID-19 in Odisha’s Ganjam district.
The deceased, Rabindranath Behera, an Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police, was working at the Bhanjanagar court. He had returned home four days ago, after he felt unwell. His antigen tests came positive and he was admitted to the Kodala Community Health Centre on Friday. However, he died late in the evening. Family members, too, reportedly abandoned the body in fear of catching the infection.
Instead of keeping the body in a mortuary, the hospital staff brought the body wrapped in clothes and left it unattended on a road for hours on Saturday. The Ganjam district police administration swung into action after the news of the body spread. “It is untrue that the body was abandoned. The body was kept for inquest. But some [people] spread false news. We have paid our last respects as per protocol,” said Brijesh Rai, Ganjam SP. He said the police also ensured that the family did not face any opposition from villagers while performing the last rites. Meanwhile, the State government has come up with a guideline on disposing the bodies of COVID-19 victims. “If families do not wish to take part in the last rites, the body may be disposed of in their absence,” said Special Relief Commissioner P.K. Jena in a letter all District Collectors.
