Uttar Pradesh: Family buries body of Covid-19 victim, belongings with excavator

GORAKHPUR: A video clip showing three men burying the body of a Covid-19 victim wrapped in a plastic sheet with the help of an excavator went viral on social media on Sunday evening.
Later, it was found that the clip of Parsa Shukl village under Dharamsinghwa police station limits in Sant Kabir Nagar district was uploaded on social media about a week ago. In the clip, three sons could be seen burying the body of their father with the help of an excavator, reports said.
The clip also showed the three men, wearing gloves, burying things like bedsheets and some packets in the pit along with the body.
“The incident took place about eight days ago. The video clip went viral on Sunday. The family of the deceased didn’t inform the police about the incident. However, we are looking into the matter,” Dharamsinghwa police told TOI on Monday.
Village head Triyoganand Gautam said, “A 60-year-old man Hindu of the village, who was Covid positive, died a week ago. We offered help to the family of the deceased to perform last rites of the body as per customs and tradition, but his three sons refused. They buried the body with the help of an excavator. No traditional rituals were followed in his final rites.”
When the three men were asked about the development, they said as they were not sure of Covid protocol, they buried the body of their father in the ground so as to check the infection spreading in the village.