Police on Monday lodged a case against 26 persons – six named and 20 unnamed – for protesting against the cremation of COVID-19 victims at a ground in Patna. Locals of the north Mandiri area near Bansghat cremation ground in Patna had on Sunday gathered to protest against a COVID-19 victim being consigned to flames, complaining that they too would contract the virus. Bansghat, an old cremation ground in Patna, has been receiving five-six bodies of COVID-19 victims daily on average as cases surge in the State capital.
“An FIR has been lodged against six named and 20 unidentified persons under sections 145, 188, 269, 270 of the Indian Penal Code and Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 at Buddha Colony police station,” said officer in-charge Ravi Shanker Singh. Those who are named in the FIR are Alok Raj, Subhas Yadav, Mallu Gope, Ramji Neta, Awadhesh Kumar and Nawal Kishor Gupta, he said.
“They had taken out a procession on Sunday without permission from the authorities concerned and also failed to produce valid documents before Chandan Prasad, the magistrate on duty, for violating lockdown norms,” said Mr. Singh. The FIR was lodged on the basis of a complaint written by the magistrate.
The district administration had earlier already deputed officials and policemen at Bansghat to deter protesters. To avoid disruptions, cremations were done only at night but the government recently allowed them in the daytime as well after some relatives of COVID-19 victims raised a hue and cry over it.
The local people have been demanding that COVID-19 victims be cremated further away from the place.
‘May get infected’
“What wrong have we done by demanding that COVID-19 victims be cremated at a distance from the usual place? We live nearby and the bodies are consigned to flames on wooden logs… we fear getting infected as it is a highly contagious disease,” said a 30-year old north Mandiri area resident preferring anonymity. “If you publish my name, the local police would also file a case against me,” he said.
As the State struggles with the rising caseload and inadequate medical infrastructure, the buzz in political corridors is that the Principal Health Secretary would be replaced again. Uday Singh Kumawat was appointed to the post over a month ago by the Nitish Kumar government, which had in a sudden move transferred the then incumbent Sanjay Kumar. However, the Chief Minister recently expressed unhappiness with Mr. Kumawat’s performance.
On Monday, Bihar reported 255 COVID-19 deaths in all with 41,111 positive cases and 27,844 recovered persons (67.73% recovery rate). The State health bulletin said the total number of active cases stood at 13,011 and 4,70,560 tests have been conducted so far.
