Rs 50,000 aid provided to Punjab man seen carrying daughter's body on shoulders

JALANDHAR: The Jalandhar district administration on Thursday provided financial assistance of Rs 50,000 to a man, who was seen carrying the body of his 11-year-old daughter on his shoulders in a viral video.

The man in the video was identified as Dilip Kumar, a daily wager, who lives in the Ram Nagar locality with his family.

His daughter died on May 9 at Amritsar and the cause of death was not COVID, officials said.

The family's financial condition was not stable and they needed immediate assistance, Jalandhar Deputy Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori said.

The video captured by a passersby on May 10, showed Kumar carrying the body of his daughter, Sonu, to the cremation ground for her last rites.

Dilip, who hails from Odisha, said that his neighbours didn't come forward to help him, fearing that the girl might have died of COVID.

Meanwhile, the DC instructed the health authorities to help poor and needy families with cremations of COVID-19 victims.

He directed them to make arrangements for the cremation and submit verified bills to his office.