Outrage over body being thrown into pit

Outrage over body being thrown into pit

Clip captures callousness of workers

07/06/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,PUDUCHERRY

A video of front line workers in Puducherry hurriedly dumping the body of a COVID-19 patient from Chennai in a pit triggered outrage on Saturday.

The 45-year-old Chennai resident had come to Puducherry on Wednesday to visit his wife. The next day, he developed chest pain and was taken to the Indira Gandhi Government General Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead.

He was tested for COVID-19 and and the results returned positive, said a doctor. Following this, staff deputed by the Villianur commune panchayat took the body in an ambulance to a burial ground.

The clip showed the workers taking the body in a stretcher and then throwing it into the pit dug for his burial.

When contacted, S. Mohan Kumar, Director of Health and Family Welfare Services, said that based on the clip, the department had sought a report.

The body, as per protocol, was packed in a polythene bag and handed over for burial. “We made sure all protocols mandated for the burial of COVID-19 patients were followed. The video is shocking as it is a clear case of insensitivity shown to the dead. The staff may have panicked as they were handling the burial of a COVID-19 patient for the first time,” he said.

Doctors, nurses, paramedical staff and patients in the critical care unit of the hospital have been isolated.