Punjab: Man carries 11-year-old daughter's body on shoulders for cremation, video goes viral
Chandigarh, May 15: A video of a daily-wager carrying the corpse of his 11-year-old daughter on his shoulders in Punjab's Jalandhar has gone viral on social media, prompting district authorities to order a probe into the incident.
In the video, which was shot by some passersby on May 10, Dilip can be seen carrying the body of his daughter Sonu on his shoulders to the cremation ground for her last rites. His son was also with him.
Talking to the media on Saturday, Dilip said his daughter had not been well and he took her to a hospital in Amritsar for treatment on the advice of doctors at a Jalandhar hospital.
He said his daughter died on the evening of May 9 at the Amritsar hospital.
After he brought the body to his room in Ram Nagar in Jalandhar, his neighbours did not come forward to help him fearing that the girl was a COVID-19 patient, said Dilip, who hails from Odisha.
Meanwhile, Jalandhar Deputy Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori ordered a probe into the whole incident after the video went viral on social media.
He said it was found that the minor did not succumb to COVID-19.
The DC said as per an inquiry conducted by the sub divisional magistrate, the cause of death was not COVID-19 as she had tested negative for the infection.
He said the girl was admitted in Jalandhar Civil Hospital from where she was referred to the Amritsar Medical college.
An ambulance carried the patient to Amritsar, where she remained admitted in the surgical ward.
After the death, an ambulance again dropped the body back in Jalandhar at their house.
The DC assured fulsome support to the family in this hour of grief.
COVID Patient Tracking Officer (CPTO) Navneet Kaur Bal said no one in the family or anyone in the area came forward to seek help in the cremation.
She said in normal cases (other than COVID deaths), once the body is handed over to the family, they take care of the last rights. However, in the present case, no one approached her for help in cremation.
Bal also stated that the cremation protocol is followed only in case of COVID death, however this case was different as the deceased had tested negative for the infection.
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Nine people including Indian arrested for looting departmental store in Kathmandu
Kathmandu (PTI): At least nine people, including an Indian national, were arrested for their involvement in looting various items from a departmental store during the pro-monarchy protest in Nepal, police said.
Ravi Ranjan Kumar, a resident of Patna in Bihar, was among those arrested for looting the Bhatbhateni Departmental Store during Friday's protest and vandalism.
The arrested people looted bottles of whiskey, fruits, beer, and make-up items from the store, a police official said.
The police have initiated necessary legal action against those arrested, said a statement issued by the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office.
During the pro-monarchy protest in Baneshwor-Tinkune area of Kathmandu, demonstrators pelted stones, attacked the office of a political party, set vehicles on fire and looted shops.
Two persons, including a TV cameraman, were killed and 110 others injured in the clashes between security personnel and the protesters, who were demanding the reinstatement of a Hindu monarch.
Meanwhile, the Kathmandu District Court granted judicial remand for five days to 41 people including the leaders of the pro-monarchy Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) to investigate the vandalism.
The Kathmandu district police are charging 41 people, including RPP General Secretary Dhawal Shumsher Rana and Vice President Ravindra Mishra under the State Offense and Organised Crime Act, according to the police.
So far, 110 people have been arrested in connection with the violent protest.
The pro-monarchists have become active since democracy day in February when former monarch Gyanendra Shah said, “Time has come for us to assume responsibility to protect the country and bring about national unity.”
They organised rallies in Kathmandu and other parts of the country, demanding the reinstatement of the 240-year-old monarchy, abolished in 2008.
On Sunday, former vice-chancellor of Nepal Academy Jagman Gurung was appointed the Monarchy Reinstatement Movement Committee chief.
Gurung will take charge as the acting commander of the committee as staunch royalist Navaraj Subedi, the commander of the committee, has been put under house arrest following the violent demonstrations.
