Not possible to rebury Dr Simon for safety reasons, says Chennai corporation

Simon's widow Anandi Simon had appealed to the city corporation to lay the mortal remains of her husband to rest at the Kilpauk cemetery instead of the Velangadu burial ground in Anna Nagar

A file photo of Dr Simon with his team and members of Students Islamic Organisation during a medical camp at Nagapattinam in 2018

CHENNAI: The mortal remains of Dr Simon Hercules cannot be exhumed and reburied in the Kilpauk cemetery due to safety reasons, the city corporation said in a statement on Saturday.

Simon's widow Anandi Simon had appealed to the city corporation to lay the mortal remains of her husband to rest at the Kilpauk cemetery instead of the Velangadu burial ground in Anna Nagar where he was buried.

In response to this, the city corporation said that it had consulted a team of public health experts who advised them against exhuming and reburying the doctor's mortal remains.

"According to the advice of the expert committee, transferring the body of someone who had been affected with COVID-19 was not deemed safe," the statement said.

Dr Simon Hercules was the managing director of New Hope Medical Centre in Kilpauk. He had succumbed to the virus on April 19 and was buried in the early hours of April 20.

His mortal remains were initially taken to the corporation's Kilpauk cemetery where the doctor's close friends and family and the hospital staff were greeted by a mob who demanded they take his remains elsewhere.

He was then buried with police protection in the corporation's Velangadu burial ground.

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