Kin shy away from dead man's body- 822 cases in Darj dist

SNS, SILIGURI, 12 MAY 21 : In a shocking incident, the body of a man was left unattended for several hours near his house in Siliguri today, as all feared Covid-19 contamination. However, it turned out later that the man had died of a cardiac arrest.

The 45-year-old resident of South Santinagar, Subrata Kar, had been admitted in the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH) with breathing problems yesterday, and he died there within hours of his admission. The cause of the death was given as 'complete heart block'

A group of women, who perform the last rites of the deceased in Siliguri, came forward to release the body from the NBMCH.

"We took the initiative to release the body at 1 am and brought it to his house. We carried it in a hearse and left it at his residence. One of his family members asked us to wait for her for the last rites. Later, she turned away, saying she would not be able to do so. We were surprised at their behaviour, and the locals also did not come forward, fearing that he might have died of Covid-19. We are shocked to see the inhuman attitude of the family members," said a member of the group. The body was lying in the hearse for over 12 hours, the locals said, until police arrived. So much so, the local people there erected a bamboo barricade around the vehicle that had the body.

A local resident Tapan Banik said the deceased had been suffering from fever for the past few days.

"He developed breathing problems yesterday. A local doctor said he would not be able to treat him. We do not know what happened after that in the night. I spotted the hearse parked near his residence at 5 am. We failed to understand if he died of Covid-19. We demanded that the body be removed if he died of Covid-19," he said.

Later, as no family member or neighbor wished to cremate the man, the women activists took the onus and performed the cremation.

822 cases in Darj dist

Siliguri Municipal Corporation, including areas that fall under Jalpaiguri district, recorded 397 Covid- 19 cases today, sources said. Darjeeling district clocked a total of 622 cases.

Matigara registered 133 cases, Naxalbari 54, Phansidewa 36, Kharibari 24, Sukhia Pokhari l8, Sukna 15, Kurseong Municipality and Mirik counted 11 cases each, Bijanbari seven, and Darjeeling Municipality and Takdah recorded five cases each.

Covid patients die

Thirteen persons who had tested positive for Covid-19 died at the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital, while two others died in private hospitals in the past 24 hours, sources said.

Meanwhile, tension prevailed at a private nursing home over the discharge of the body of a Covid-19 patient today. Sources said the nursing home authorities demanded clearing of all the bills in cash, even as the family members were willing to hand over a bank cheque. The body was released almost after six hours, following the intervention of the administration.