Delhi cops help in performing last rites of COVID victims

From helping a Lt Colonel posted in Leh in cremating his father-in-law who died of COVID-19 to supporting people in performing funerals of deceased family members, the Delhi Police says it is going an extra mile to help citizens in distress.

A senior police officer said Lieutenant Colonel Soumen Mondal called up the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka) for urgent help regarding cremation of his father-in-law, who was COVID-19 positive, and no one was willing to help him and even crematorium was not available.

"As he is posted in Leh and cannot come to the national capital in such a short span of time, we, with the help of constable Rajesh of Dwarka North police station, arranged all the required things and the cremation of Biswanath Pramanik was performed," the officer said.

Similarly, Dwarka South police station was informed that one Jai Matnani, who was COVID-19 positive, has died, following which police rushed to Sector-7 in Dwarka.

During an enquiry, it came to know that the woman had come to Dwarka at her brother's house and died later during treatment, the officer said.

As there was nobody to take responsibility of cremation of the deceased, Dwarka police team took the responsibility. The body was shifted to a cremation ground in Sector 24, Dwarka and the cremation was conducted as per Hindu rituals, police said.

Meanwhile, in the north district around 2.15 pm on Sunday, police got a distress call regarding the death of an 85-year-old woman.

It was informed that there were only women in her family except her grandson and no neighbour was coming forward to help the family in performing the last rites, police said.

Police reached the spot and found that one Balbir Kaur, who was bedridden since a long time, has died. The police team did the necessary arrangements for the last rites and took the body to Adarsh Nagar cremation centre and conducted the rituals, officials said.