NELLORE: District Collector MV Seshagiri Babu on Friday appointed Nellore Revenue Divisional Officer Hussain Saheb as the Special Officer to conduct an inquiry into burial of three bodies of Covid-19 victims at night in an inhuman manner using an earthmover.
The inquiry was ordered after a video went viral on social media platforms, which showed some municipal workers hurling three bodies into a JCB after bringing them to the spot close to Madaraju Gudur in an ambulance on Thursday night and later the bodies were dumped into a pit in the Penna riverbed, which is a clear cut violation of Covid-19 protocol for disposal of victims’ bodies.
It was stated that some Jana Sena activists who witnessed the inhuman act, recorded it on their smartphones and posted the video on social media platforms.Condemning the inhuman burial of Covid-19 victims’ bodies, Jana Sena leader Kethamreddy Vinod Reddy said the incident took place close to the residential quarters of SembCorp thermal plant.He demanded that the State government allocate land in coastal mandals of the district for disposal of coronavirus victims’ bodies as per the protocol in a dignified manner.
Having learnt about the inhuman burial of coronavirus victims’ bodies, Minister for Water Resources P Anil Kumar Yadav expressed his ire at the district officials and sought details of the incident.
RDO Hussain Saheb said, “I have started an inquiry into ‘inhuman burial’ of Covid-19 victims’ bodies on the Penna river bed. I will submit a report to the Collector soon after completing the probe.”
“Pained to see bodies of #Covid_19 patients in Nellore being disrespectfully thrown into a single pit using an Earthmover. This is happening time & again. @ysjagan Govt must offer an apology to the grieving families who wished for a respectful departure for their loved ones,” tweeted TDP chief and Opposition Leader N Chandrababu Naidu.