Body of COVID-19 man thrown into pit in Puducherry

In yet another case of dignity being denied in death, the body of a 42-year-old man who died of COVID-19 was hurriedly thrown into a pit by government workers in Puducherry last week. A video of the incident which has now come to light has gone viral on the social media triggering an outrage.

The incident comes nearly two months after a neurosurgeon, Dr Simon Hercules, was buried by his colleague with his bare hands in the dead of the night following protests due to “misconception” that COVID-19 could spread from dead bodies.

After last week’s incident came out in the public thanks to the viral video, the Puducherry Government has ordered an inquiry. Sources said the Puducherry District administration will go into the incident and find out what went wrong with regard to burial of the 42-year-old man.

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The video shows four men in personal protective equipment (PPEs) carry the body of the 42-year-old man from an ambulance and a few second later, one of the men is heard telling an official that they “have thrown the body.”

The sources added that the man, who is a native of Chennai, came to Puducherry to meet his in-laws house and was rushed to a hospital after he complained of chest pain. He was declared dead on arrival at the hospital, but his COVID-19 samples came out positive.

As the video went viral, several took to Twitter to condemn the incident and question why people should be denied dignity in death.