A shocking video has surfaced from Uttar Pradesh’s Balrampur district, which showed a body of a COVID-19 patient being thrown off the bridge into the river below. According to reports, the body was of a man who succumbed to Covid on May 28. A case has been registered against the man’s family, the police told IANS.
The incident was shot by a couple of people who were driving by the spot in Balrampur district on May 28. Two men, one of them in a PPE suit, are seen lifting a body on the bridge over Rapti river. The man in the PPE suit can be seen struggling with the body — probably trying to get it out of the body bag.
Speaking to the Times of India, the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Balrampur said that the deceased has been identified as Prem Nath Mishra. Mishra was diagnosed with COVID-19 and had been admitted to hospital on May 25. He succumbed to the disease on May 28. The man’s body was handed over to the family members on the same day, the official added.
The Balrampur CMO added that the relatives were trying to dump it in the river. A case has been filed against the relatives of the deceased and the body has been handed back to them.
In UP's Balrampur district, video of body of man being thrown in the river from a bridge has surfaced. The body was of a man who succumbed to Covid on May 28. pic.twitter.com/DEAAbQzHsL
— Piyush Rai (@Benarasiyaa) May 30, 2021
"Preliminary investigations have revealed that the patient was admitted to hospital on May 25, and he died three days later. As per COVID-19 protocol, the body was handed over to his relatives. The relatives threw the body into the river. We have filed a case and strict action will be taken," Balrampur Chief Medical Officer VV Singh told IANS.
Earlier this month, hundreds of bodies had washed up on the banks of river Ganga in parts of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh after which the chief minister asked all district magistrates to ensure that the bodies were properly disposed of.