Balrampur (UP)(PTI): Two men, one of them wearing a PPE kit, were caught on tape rolling down a coronavirus patient's body from over a bridge into a river in Uttar Pradesh's Balrampur district.
The video was shot by some people who were driving by the spot.
After the visuals surfaced, police registered a case.
Balrampur Chief Medical Officer Vijay Bahadur Singh on Sunday said the body has been identified as that of Prem Nath Mishra, a resident of Sohratgarh in UP's Siddharth Nagar district.
"Prem Nath Mishra was hospitalised on May 25 after he contracted COVID-19 and succumbed to the disease on May 28. The body was handed over to family members as per the COVID-19 protocol. In the video, which went viral on social media, it can be seen that the body was thrown into the Rapti river."
He said a case has been registered at the Kotwali police station in this regard.
Earlier in the month, several bodies were seen floating in the Ganga and Yamuna rivers in the state, triggering apprehensions that these were of COVID-19 patients.
The authorities too had urged people not to dispose of bodies into rivers.
In UP's Balrampur district, video of body of man being thrown in the river from a bridge has surfaced. The body was of a man who succumbed to Covid on May 28. pic.twitter.com/DEAAbQzHsL
— Piyush Rai (@Benarasiyaa) May 30, 2021
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Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
