Burial triggers row at Karelibaug cemetery

TNN | Apr 4, 2020, 04:25 IST

Vadodara: A number of locals objected to burial of body of COVID-19 victim, a 78-year-old man from Godhra, at a Muslim cemetery located in Karelibaug area of the city, fearing that burying the dead body, near their locality may spread the viral infection.
When the body of the Godhra resident was brought to Matariya Kabristan in Karelibaug at around 7 am on Friday morning, a group of locals gathered near the burial ground claiming that as per rules, such dead bodies have to be burnt on funeral pyre.
Those who objected to the burial included people of different faiths, who reside in societies located near the ground.
“After our police team reached there, the crowd which had gathered near the burial ground dispersed. We had kept the police ‘bandobast’ till the time the burial got over. The burial was peacefully,” said Karelibaug police inspector R I Jadeja.
Vadodara district health officials however refuted the claims of locals that the burial was done without following government guidelines.
“The guidelines state that the body should be transported in a secured bag to avoid the infection from further spreading,” said chief district health officer Dr Uday Tilawat.
“The guidelines state that the grave of the person should be dug deep. It should be a deep burial. So, an earth mover was used to dug up a deep pit after which the burial was carried out with complete protocol,” he said.
The guidelines stress that there should be no bathing, kissing, hugging and reciting of verses for the dead people.