The police have registered criminal cases against ten people for allegedly preventing a group of sanitation workers to enter their own houses in Tekkali.
According to police, the workers, as part of their official duty, performed the last rites of a person who died of coronavirus at Meliyaputti village. Having received information that the family members and kin of the deceased refused to take part in the funeral, the authorities in Tekkali sent the workers to the village. PPE kits were provided to the workers who performed the last rites in adherence to the COVID-19 protocols.
Stigma
However, they were allegedly not allowed to enter their houses by the accused when they returned from Meliyaputti and forced to stay in an isolated place for almost a day. Following the orders of Collector J. Nivas, criminal cases were registered under Section 341 and 188 of IPC. “Any discrimination against COVID patients and others involved in the last rites of those who died of the virus will be viewed seriously,” said the Collector.
