Villagers stop girl’s cremation over Covid fears

Balangir: Police had to intervene to help cremate the body of a minor girl who died at a quarantine centre at Mayabarha, under Dunguripali block of Sonepur district, after locals allegedly refused to allow the body into the village for fear that the girl had died of Covid-19. Her last rites were conducted on Thursday by her maternal uncle far away from the village, on the Mahanadi riverbed, with police providing protection and support.
The deceased belonged to Sharasmal village under the same block.She was in the quarantine centre at Kasturba Gandhi residential girl’s school at Mayabarha along with her mother and younger sister. The three had started quarantine on June 5 after returning from Telangana, where they worked in a brick kiln.
Bhanu Shankar Yadav, inspector in-charge of Rampur police station, said the 14-year-old girl complained of uneasiness and fainted on Wednesday night. She died the next day.
“The girl was unconscious when me and my medical team members (from Dunguripali Community Health Centre) reached the quarantine centre. There was no movement,” said Partha Sarathi Panda, the doctor who examined her.
“Our personnel helped the girl’s relative to perform her last rites as per ritual. We provided wood and other material required for the cremation. Our staff were present throughout the cremation,” said Yadav, adding that they are awaiting the autopsy report.
Premaraj Nag said his niece was healthy and did not have any illness before. “The villagers suspected my niece had died of Covid-19 and were apprehensive they would catch the virus if they allow her body into the village. The villagers were reluctant to allow her body to be cremated at the village cremation ground. They insisted that we perform her last rites elsewhere,” Nag said.
According to the maternal uncle, the girl’s mother and another daughter are still in the quarantine centre while her father, a psychiatry patient, stays in the village.
“There is nobody else in the family to perform the last rites except the villagers and community members. With police help, we took the body to the Mahanadi riverbed at Binka and conducted the last rites,” added Premraj, who has demanded an inquiry into the incident.
Despite government instruction not to discriminate with migrants, returnees are facing problem in many places despite having completed the quarantine period.
A Sharasmal villager said, requesting anonymity, “People are in a panic state due to the pandemic. They are not allowing outsiders to enter the village”.
Sonepur district collector Monisha Banerjee, said, “Due procedure was followed while cremating the body. There was no prejudice.”
EoM