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.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Sao Paulo (AP): Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti raised doubts about whether Neymar will be in his squad for the 2026 World Cup. The Italian has yet to pick the former captain since he took over in May.

“If Neymar deserves to be (in the squad), if he is, well, better than others, he will play in the World Cup and that's it. (But) I don't have debts to anyone,” Ancelotti said at a press conference in Washington on Friday following the draw.

Brazil is in Group C with Morocco, Haiti and Scotland.

“If we speak about Neymar, we have to speak about other players,” Ancelotti added. “We have to think about Brazil with or without Neymar, with or without other players. Our final list we will make after the FIFA fixtures in March.”

The 33-year-old Neymar has never fully recovered from a torn ACL in October 2023 during a World Cup qualifier against Uruguay. But he's been key for Santos in its fight to avoid relegation in the Brazilian championship.

On Wednesday, he scored a hat trick for Santos despite a muscular injury. He is expected to play again on Sunday against Cruzeiro.

Ancelotti said Brazil does not have a “referential player” at the moment, a tag for the most valuable player that Neymar has mainly worn since the 2014 home World Cup.

“We have one of the world's best goalkeepers, some of the best defenders, top midfielders and some players up front. I don't want players who want to be the best in the world, I want players who want to win the World Cup,” Ancelotti said.

Asked about his team's group, Ancelotti said Brazil can top it.

“We can win all three matches, our idea is very clear. We need to be competitive during the entire World Cup. Our goal is to play in the final and for that to happen you need to face very strong teams anyway.”

Brazil won the last of its five World Cup trophies in 2002.