TIRUPATI: In a shocking incident, the last rites of a migrant worker, who reportedly died of dehydration and exhaustion after walking almost 250 km to reach his village of Mittapalle in Ramasamudram mandal of Chittoor district, were stopped by locals fearing that he had contracted COVID-19.
The body of the 26-year-old was kept outside the village for almost an entire day till medical officials, after conducting tests, confirmed his samples were found negative for the virus.
Hari Prasad hails from Mittapalle village and used to do odd jobs in Bengaluru for a livelihood. With the lockdown depriving him of his livelihood in Bengaluru, he decided to return back to his village.
According to reports reaching here, Hari Prasad started on foot from Bengaluru to reach his home in Mittapalle village, which borders Karnataka, one week back. He reportedly struggled for food and water on the way but continued his walk and finally reached Mittapalle late on Monday night.
As he fell ill due to exhaustion, his family members shifted him to a hospital but he died within a few hours reportedly due to dehydration and exhaustion. With the help of hospital staff, the family members tried to shift the dead body to their home but were prevented by villagers who raised objections fearing that Hari Prasad had died of the coronavirus. This forced the family members to put the body on the outskirts of the village for the entire night.
On receiving information, medical officials from Punganur on Wednesday rushed to the village and collected swab samples from the dead body and sent them for tests. The samples tested negative after which the villagers allowed the last rites of Hari Prasad, Ramasamudram Sub-Inspector Ravi Kumar said.