Uttar Pradesh: Muslim youths help cremate 60-year-old Hindu man who died of COVID-19

Balrampur, May 04: A group of Muslim youth helped cremate a 60-year-old Hindu man, who died of COVID-19 here, as his family members were hesitant to go ahead with the ritual for fear of contracting the disease.

Mukund Mohan Pandey (60) died on Monday but his family members were hesitating on his cremation as his elder brother, Lalit Pandey, too succumbed to the virus on April 30, local people said.

Nagar Palika chairman Shaban Ali said when he came to know about this, he had some of his friends, Tariq, Anas, Guddu and Shafiq, make all the arrangements and take the body to the cremation ground. After the arrangements were made, Pandey's son consigned him to flames, Ali added.

Meanwhile, in Maharashtra, a garbage vehicle was used to transport a COVID-19 patient's body to a crematorium, after ambulances were unavailable and private vehicles refused to help despite offers of extra money in Maharashtra's Osmanabad district, an official said on Tuesday.

The incident took place on Monday, when a resident of Kinhi village went to consult a private doctor in neighbouring Ter village, which was 7 km away, and collapsed and died outside the clinic, an official from Dholki police station said.

The police were immediately informed and a team from a government hospital was called in, he said, adding that following a rapid antigen test, the man was found positive for coronavirus.

After necessary procedures, the body was handed over to Kinhi village authorities, who tried to hire an ambulance from Ter, said Vijay Hajgude, sarpanch of Kinhi gram panchayat.