BSF jawan laid to rest with state honours, hundreds attend funeral

Dumka: Covid-19 safety protocols were violated during the funeral of deceased BSF jawan Manish Jha at his native place in Basukinath in Jarmund block on Monday. Jha’s six-year-old daughter Sneh lit the funeral pyre of his father.
Residents said the protocols were “violated” by state agriculture minister and local Congress MLA Badal Patralekh when he attended the funeral along with “hundreds of his supporters”. According to the government's safety protocols, a maximum of 20 people is allowed to take part in a funeral. Moreover, many of those who attended the cremation did not wear masks and no social distancing was maintained.
Jha, a 33-year-old BSF constable died of heart attack while on duty at a check post in the Uri sector of Jammu & Kashmir on May 15. He was laid to rest with full state honours and Patralekh briefly carried the coffin.
Earlier, Patralekh also accompanied the military team which carried the coffin from Ranchi for handing it over to Jha's family at their house in Jarmundi block.
Following the violation of protocols, several Jarmundi residents demanded legal action against the minister for risking the lives of people.
Kundan Kumar, a resident of Jarmundi, said, "Isn't the minister supposed to lead by example when the country is fighting the pandemic? Shouldn't he have paid his respects without bringing a huge number of supporters? There are many ways to pay respect to the brave jawan and his family."
Patralekh, however, denied that the crowd is his supporters and said he was present behind the gathering of people at the funeral.
Talking to TOI, "It is obligatory from my part as a local public representative to pay tribute to the jawan and share the grief of his family members. That is why I took his body to his native place from Ranchi on Sunday night."
He also added that the crowd did not listen to his repeated requests not to take part in the funeral.
Deputy commissioner Rajeshwari B was among the top administrative and police officials taking part in paying tribute to the deceased jawan at his home.
Meanwhile, SP Ambar Lakda said, "I had entrusted one of my subordinates to visit the Jha's home to pay tribute and express condolence to his family. However, no one has reported to me about the violation of protocols."
It may be noted that the official figures put about 50 Covid deaths in Dumka but sources said the number could be higher as several patients have died at their homes without the reports reaching the district administration.