Greater Chennai Corporation rejects request for reburial of doctor who died of COVID-19, says it is unsafe to do so

Chennai: Days after the wife of a doctor, who died of COVID-19, appealed to authorities to allow excavation of his body so that it could be buried again at a cemetery of her spouse’s choice, the Chennai Corporation on Saturday rejected her plea citing health experts’ view that it was unsafe to do so. Citing her request on 22 April to allow burial at a cemetery in Kilpauk, the civic body said it sought a report from a committee of public health experts to ascertain the feasibility of entertaining her plea. [caption id=“attachment_8263411” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AP[/caption] The report of experts has said that “it is not safe,” to excavate and bury again the body of a COVID-19 victim and hence “it is not possible to accept her request,” the Greater Chennai Corporation said in an official release. On 19 April, a city-based 55-year-old neurosurgeon died of coronavirus and his burial at the Velangadu crematorium in Chennai was marred by violence. A mob falsely fearing that the burial may lead to the spread of contagion had attacked the corporation health employees and associates of the deceased doctor. The doctor’s wife and son also had to leave the burial ground in view of the violence. The body was brought to Velangadu as people of Kilpauk area had opposed his burial there. Over a dozen men involved allegedly in violence were arrested and remanded to judicial custody. Later, in a video message, the surgeon’s wife had said that it was her husband’s last wish to be interred at the Kilpauk cemetery as per Christian rituals. Chief Minister K Palaniswami and DMK president MK Stalin had spoken to her on Wednesday over the phone and condoled her husband’s death.