Telangana: Villagers protest burial of Covid victim RMP doctor

HYDERABAD: The body of an RMP doctor, who died of Covid-19, was not allowed into a village in neighbouring Sangareddy district in Telangana to perform his last rites.
The ambulance which was carrying the body of the deceased was blocked for around 12 hours by the villagers following which the authorities along with medical personnel buried the body on the outskirts of Sultanpur village in Sirgapur mandal on Thursday.
Covid-19 norms were followed with the Sirgapur mandal tahsildar Ratnam, local police officers and primary health centre doctor overseeing the burial of the body.
The RMP doctor of Sirgapur village had tested positive for Covid-19 on July 5 and was taken to Gandhi Hospital in Secunderabad for treatment. He was later shifted to a private hospital private hospital. He died on July 15 and his body was brought to the village in an ambulance the same night at 11pm.
When the ambulance arrived, the villagers gathered at the entry point of the village and refused to allow it to enter the village, despite pleas from the family of the deceased. Throughout the night, the villagers stood guard. After 12 hours had already lapsed with the body being in the ambulance, the local authorities conducted the last rites on the village outskirts at 11am on Thursday.
The number of Covid cases have been on the rise in Sangareddy district with 59 people testing positive on Thursday. So far there have been 11 deaths in the district. Out of the 668 Covid-19 cases, 130 recovered and were discharged.