Covid victim’s body left in open at graveyard in Tiruppur

TIRUPPUR: In a blatant act of negligence, health workers of a private hospital and relatives of a Covid victim left his body in the open overnight at a graveyard in Kunnathur recently. Villagers were shocked after finding the victim’s body lying unattended.

The 40-year-old victim, who hails from Velliraveli village in Kunnathur near Uthukuli, died on his way to Perundurai Medical College Hospital  in Erode, following a referral by a private hospital in Kunnathur. After being declared dead on arrival in the wee hours of Sunday, the victim’s brother, who was the only attendant, left the body at the graveyard in Velliravelli village, with the help of health workers, as the body could not be taken home.  

Later in the day, Velliraveli Panchayat President M Sivanmalai arranged for the burial. “After revenue officials confirmed the identity of the victim, we dug pits in two places as we hit hard rock and could not proceed further,” he said.

“Later, I foot the bill for an earthmover and two workers to help bury the victim as relatives were not around.” Speaking to TNIE, District Collector K Vijaya Karthikeyan said, “This is a serious issue and I have directed the RDO to conduct an inquiry into the incident. Action will be taken based on the inquiry report.”