Fear shrouds 11-year-old’s non-Covid death, dad carries body for last rites in Jalandhar

JALANDHAR: A video of a man carrying the body of his daughter, 11, for cremation has gone viral on social media. It shows a man, identified as Dalip from Ram Nagar locality in Jalandhar, carrying his daughter’s body on his shoulder for the last rites and his young son walking close behind.’ A video of the incident came out late on Friday night, five days after the incident took place.
A quick inquiry ordered by Jalandhar deputy commissioner Ghanshyam Thori on Saturday revealed that the girl had never tested positive for Covid-19 and was in fact admitted to the surgical ward of Guru Nanak Hospital attached with Government Medical College, Amritsar. A certificate issued by the hospital for the purpose of transportation of the body also mentioned that she was diagnosed with SAIO (subacute intestinal obstruction). It stated that she was admitted there on May 7.
Dalip, who is from Odisha, said he has been living in the same Jalandhar locality for the last 20 years. He said he got married here and had three children. He said that his daughter Sonu had been sick for the last two months. “I took her to Civil Hospital Jalandhar, from where she was sent to hospital in Amritsar. She was tested and treated for Covid-19 for a few days, but she died on May 9 evening.
On the same night, I brought her body here in an ambulance after paying Rs 2,500. The next day, I prepared for her cremation and arranged three quintal wood,” he said.
A video grab of the father and son going for the cremation of the girl
Girl suffered from ‘acute gastroenteritis’: Report
There are eight rooms in the compound where I live and all the other residents told me that none of them would help me carry the body for fear of contracting Covid-19. They also advised me to carry the body by myself, without even my son. They walked behind us at a distance to attend the cremation,” he said.
Thori also issued a statement in the evening, saying that according to an inquiry conducted by the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) into the case, the cause of death was not Covid-19 as the girl had tested negative for the disease. The medical record at Civil Hospital Jalandhar also mentioned that the girl had ‘acute gastroenteritis’.
Covid-19 patient tracking officer Navneet Kaur Bal said none from the victim’s family or anyone in the area had sought help in the cremation.
Under normal cases (other than Covid-19 deaths), once the body is handed over to the family, they take care of the last rites, she said. “Cremation protocol is followed only in case of Covid-19 death. This case was different the as deceased was tested negative for Covid-19,” she said.