COVID victim exhumed from cemetery after locals object, buried near river

Sources said that Rosy of Pillayar Koil street in Thottapalayam, who contracted the infection, was admitted to a private hospital on May 10. She died without responding to the treatment on Saturday and her body was buried in a small churchyard in the old town area as she had lived there before shifting to the Thottapalayam area.

On knowing that the deceased was a COVID patient, residents of the area vehemently opposed the burial in the cemetery. On Sunday, the body was removed and buried in another burial ground on the banks of the Palar river near the new bus stand with all safety precautions.

With rules stipulating that bodies of COVID patients cannot be given to relatives and can only be buried by either corporation workers or social workers; questions were raised on how the private hospital allowed relatives to get the body. When contacted, private hospital officials said that COVID bodies would be cleared daily around 3.30 pm by the corporation’s sanitary inspector and he must have allowed relatives to get the body.

The body was placed in a crypt that was shallow, contrary to the official rule that it must be buried in a pit at least 12 feet deep to prevent the spread of infection. However, the body was physically removed from the crypt in the cemetery by workers who then buried it in a 12 feet deep pit.