NEW DELHI: A member of the Delhi Waqf Board has suggested that the panel be entrusted with the job of burial of Muslim victims of coronavirus whose bodies have not been claimed so far by their families.
Himal Akhtar, citing media reports, said that bodies of some Muslims who died due to coronavirus were kept at hospitals as their relatives were unable to reach there due to the nationwide lockdown, which is in force since March 25 and has now been extended till May 3.
In a letter to Delhi Waqf Board CEO S M Ali, Akhtar said performing last rites according to one's religion and tradition is also a fundamental right.
"A few reliable media houses have made us aware of few Muslim bodies which have not been buried as the hospital is not releasing and their relatives cannot come because of the lockdown, so it is the duty of the Waqf board to provide them with this fundamental right by burying them in the demarcated area," Akhtar wrote in his letter.
A copy of the letter was also sent to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, he said.
The Waqf Board, currently running without a chairman, has proper personnel for burying the dead by following the rules and the guidelines of the government.
The board already has been arranging burials of unclaimed bodies, Akhtar said.
He urged Ali to seek guidance of the Delhi government and the Centre about burial of the bodies of coronavirus victims kept at hospitals, so that the Waqf Board could discharge its duty.
The Waqf Board last week designated a graveyard near Millennium Park for burial of coronavirus victims due to objections on such burials at other graveyards.