Outrage over clip of dogs eating COVID-19 patient’s body in Telangana's Adilabad

It is being alleged that the body was only half-burnt and officials left it that way. As a result, some street dogs in the vicinity came to the spot and started eating the half-burnt body.
For representational purposes (Photo | EPS)
For representational purposes (Photo | EPS)

ADILABAD: Controversy continues to rage over the death of a 44-year-old man who died of COVID-19 on August 5. The body of the victim was burnt in a graveyard by municipal authorities on the outskirts of Mavala village in the district.

However, it is being alleged that the body was only half-burnt and officials left it that way. As a result, some street dogs in the vicinity came to the spot and started eating the half-burnt body. A video, which went viral on social media groups on Saturday, caused a huge stir.

Meanwhile, municipal officials claimed that the patient’s family members too had attended the funeral and the body was not left half-burnt. The dogs were chewing on an animal’s carcass, they said.

Earlier, the COVID-positive patient had been admitted in Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) Hospital, Adilabad. But when his condition worsened, doctors told his kin to take him to Gandhi Hospital, Hyderabad. His relatives alleged that the oxygen cylinder in the ambulance had stopped working by the time it reached Nirmal. This resulted in the patient’s death. Following this, the man’s relatives had staged a protest at RIMS Hospital.       

District Collector Sikta Patnaik has asked Additional Collector G Sandhya Rani to conduct an inquiry into the matter. After the investigation, action will be taken. Fencing wire is being erected around the graveyard in the meantime.

Congress minority cell president Shajid Khan said that the government had not provided the material required for the cremation.

He also said that the patient had not been provided with quality food during treatment and was denied the dignity of a proper funeral. The TRS government’s neglect of Coronavirus patients would cost it dear, he said.

How it happened
Earlier, the COVID-positive patient had been admitted in RIMS Hospital, Adilabad. But when his condition worsened, doctors told his kin to take him to Gandhi Hospital, Hyderabad. He died en route the hospital due to the, alleged, unavailability of oxygen in the ambulance

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