Controversy erupted on Thursday over dead bodies being disposed off from government-run Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College(NRS) morgue, which were suspected to be those of COVID-19 patients. A video circulated on social media which raised questions over COVID-19 patients and whether their bodies were being disposed off in a discreet manner, which hides the actual number of cases in the state.
NRS college Principal Professor Saibal Kumar Mukherjee later clarified in a letter to the Commissioner of Police saying that the video is fake and asked Police to take necessary action. “The fact that 14 number of unclaimed bodies were being handed over to KMC authority as per list given by different police stations of morgue’s jurisdiction. And none of these dead bodies were of COVID patients. The subject of this video is fake and you may please take necessary action,” read the letter.
The question is, were these bodies indeed COVID bodies and are the hospital and government trying to cover up? Secondly, if these bodies are not those who died due to COVID-19, should the bodies be disposed off in this manner as pointed out by West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar in his tweet. “Response @HomeSecretaryWB has come. Virtual admission about callous handling of dead bodies promising procedure will be streamlined. Rather than booking those responsible for such inhuman criminality, police is being misused to ‘teach a lesson’ to those who exposed it,” read a part of the Governor’s tweet.
Kolkata Municipal Corporation(KMC) Mayor Firhad Hakim stated that the dead bodies cannot be those of COVID patients as the dead bodies of COVID patients are burnt at a specific burning ground in Dhapa. Hakim also stated that earlier unidentified bodies were disposed off at Dhapa but post the COVID-19 outbreak, unidentified bodies are cremated elsewhere and not at Dhapa.
An order by the KMC dated 29th May says, “As per directives of Hon’ble Chairman, Board of Administrators henceforth unclaimed bodies will be cremated at Garia Adi Mahasasan(Furnace No.4), while Dhapa crematorium will be used exclusively for cremation of COVID-19 Hindu corpse.” The letter has been signed by the Chief Municipal Health Officer.
BJP State President Dilip Ghosh, however, used this opportunity to lash out at the State government. Ghosh has alleged that the dead bodies are of COVID patients and that the state was hiding it earlier as there was no clarity as far as the COVID death ratio was concerned.