Man carries daughter’s body on shoulder for last rites, video goes viral

JALANDHAR: A video of a man walking up to the crematorium in Jalandhar with the body of his 11-year-old daughter on his shoulder is making rounds of the social media, a week after the incident. There are conflicting versions on whether the girl was infected with Covid as the family says the hospital told them that she was positive while the administration claims otherwise.

Eleven-year-old Sonu died at Government Medical College, Amritsar, on May 9 and the video that appeared on Saturday is of May 10. Dalip Kumar, a migrant labourer from Odisha who lives in Ramnagar area of Jalandhar, told the media that his daughter developed fever around two months ago. Initially, he took her to a quack and when her condition didn’t improve, Dalip took her to Jalandhar civil hospital, from where she was referred to GMC, Amritsar.

Dalip said they returned to Jalandhar from Amritsar on May 9 night and were verbally informed by the Amritsar hospital staff that Sonu was positive for coronavirus. On May 10, when Dalip informed his neighbours about the death of his daughter and sought help for her cremation, they refused to give a shoulder to the body up to the crematorium. Dalip then carried the body up to the crematorium on his shoulder, his son walking beside.

Dalip said his neighbours did reach the crematorium but kept a distance throughout.

DC Ghanshyam Thori said as per the inquiry conducted by the sub-divisional magistrate, the cause of the girl’s death was not Covid-19 as she was tested negative for the virus. “The girl was admitted to Jalandhar civil hospital from where she was referred to GMC Amritsar. An ambulance dropped the patient at Amritsar. After her death, an ambulance dropped the body at Jalandhar,” he said.