The Superintendent of Police of Karbi Anglong district has ensured honourable cremation for a man who died of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Assam.

The man from Sumpara village in Karbi Anglong district was the fifth victim of COVID-19 from Assam. His death was announced on June 9, two days after he succumbed to the virus. The delay was because his body lay in the morgue of a government hospital in the district headquarters of Diphu, 271km east of Guwahati. The watchman stayed away after locking the morgue’s door, as did heath workers out of panic over contagion.

Breaks open lock

Superintendent of Police Debojit Deuri swung into action after the body started to decompose. He went to the morgue on Tuesday, broke open the lock and took the body out with the help of his driver and two personal security officers.

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“I would perhaps not have done this had my subordinates not volunteered. We donned personal protective equipment, took all precautions to place the body in a hired vehicle and did whatever was needed to ensure an honourable cremation for the man,” Mr. Deuri told The Hindu from his official residence in Diphu, where he has gone into quarantine. But it was not easy to get the body cremated.

Locals refused to let the SP and his men cremate the body at the public crematorium in Diphu and on a plot on the outskirts that the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) had identified for COVID-19 casualties. Karbi Anglong, a Sixth Schedule area, is administered by the KAAC.

They finally had the cremation done at the man’s village in the presence of his son-in-law and a few neighbours.

14-day quarantine

District officials said the man was sent home on June 3 after he spent 14 days at an institutional quarantine centre on arrival from outside Assam. He was advised home quarantine after his swab test was found to be negative.

His swab sample was collected again after he developed complications on June 6. He died the following day on way to hospital. His positive test result after the death triggered panic.

“Those who are supposed to dispose of the body were unwilling to while the driver of the hearse vanished. A doctor, an executive member of the KAAC and a magistrate were beside us but I decided to take the lead as I was the only one who stayed alone, away from family,” Mr. Deuri said.

‘Team effort’

“Every person deserves a dignified final farewell. The cremation would not have been possible without my team, including Deputy Superintendent of Police Nahid Karisma and Biju K. Basumatary, the officer-in-charge of the police station under which the deceased man’s village falls,” he added.

The SP said the KAAC authorities helped in convincing the locals for the last rites in the village.

Till 3 p.m. on June 10, Assam recorded a total of 2,937 cases, with 1,844 active cases and 1,085 having been discharged. Five died and three migrated to other States.