28 July,2020 12:54 AM IST | Kolkata | mid-day online correspondent
Photo used for representational purposes
A family was forced to bury a 70-year-old man, who died of coronavirus, in the compound outside their house in Purba Medinipur district of West Bengal.
The deceased, identified as Sanatan Pradhan, has fallen sick on July 19. He was taken to the hospital the next day for COVID-19 test. On July 23, the family was informed that he has tested positive and an ambulance would be sent to take him to the hospital, reports NDTV.
However, the family kept waiting for the ambulance to arrive and by the time the ambulance reached Sanatan had died. The ambulance staff did not take the body and said that police will take care of it.
After waiting for hours, some officials came and they threw two PPE kits in the compound of the house and said that Sanatan's two sons should perform his last rites.
After 12 hours, the family decided to cremate Sanatan at the village ghat, but the locals prevented them from performing the last rites. So, late in the night, the two sons, wearing PPE kits, dug a grave and buried their father in the compound of the house.
In another shocking incident in the state, the body of a 55-year-old coronavirus patient had to be kept for 18 hours at his home in Kolkata's Behala on Monday.
The patient reportedly died of acute respiratory trouble at around 10.30 pm on Sunday. He had tested positive earlier that day.
According to local sources, his family members tried to contact Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) officials, the local councillor and the police but received no response from them in cremating the body as per government protocol.
The family members and the deceased's neighbours claimed that there was no response till late afternoon on Monday. Meanwhile, six family members of the victim have also tested positive for COVID-19. The residents of Behala's Sahapur now fear a spread of the virus in the area and have requested the family members of the victim to stay indoors.
In a separate incident, a 68-year-old suspected COVID-19 patient died while being taken to the hospital in West Bengal's North 24-Parganas district. The incident took place at Bongaon Sub-divisional hospital on Saturday when the patient, Madhav Narayan Dutt, was being taken to the hospital.
His wife had asked for help while trying to drag him to the hospital ward. But no one came forward to help. She had then pleaded for help from bystanders but again no one came forward. Later, doctors declared the patient to be dead.
"We have come to know about the incident. It is pathetic. We are looking into it. We will take action if anyone is found guilty, said Bongaon sub-divisional hospital superintendent Shankar Prasad Mahato.
(With inputs from IANS)
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