JOIN USMan tosses his stillborn child's body into canal as villagers allegedly oppose burial fearing Covid-19 contamination
A man in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh lobbed the body of his stillborn girl child into an irrigation canal on Friday night.
Shamshir Shah Ali took the extreme step after he was allegedly prohibited to perform last rites by people of his neighborhood in Kotapadu village of Sirivella mandal, for the fear that the body might be contaminated with Covid-19.
Ali took his pregnant wife Madar Bi to the Nandyal government hospital on Friday, where doctors took out the stillborn child through C-section.
The stillborn body was found in the Kurnool-Cuddapah irrigation canal by passersby on Saturday morning. The police identified the parents through the hospital’s tag.
“Ali claims that his villagers opposed the body from being brought there. As it was also raining at that time, the hapless man threw the body into the canal,” Divakar Reddy, Nandyal taluka inspector told DH.
After the police intervention, Ali came to the spot at Chabolu village, retrieved the body, and took it with him for burial.
“We did not register any case as Ali, a meager wage earner, was in a pitiable state and requires taking care of his ailing wife,” Reddy said.
“The doctors did not confirm the body as Covid-19 positive, but villagers are in tremendous fear as hundreds of cases are in Nandyal. Several of my men have also tested positive and we are discharging duties with a handful of staff,” Reddy said.
Kurnool district is the worst affected district of Andhra Pradesh with 6045 Covid-19 positive cases and 123 deaths till now.
On Sunday, Andhra Pradesh added its highest single day addition of 5041 new cases and 56 deaths. The state has a total 49650 cases, 26118 of them active and 642 deceased.
Last month, the dead body of a pregnant woman was left in the forest by her family from B Nagireddipalle village of Rudravaram mandal in the same Kurnool district as village elders objected to her burial in the village out of superstition and supposed Covid-19 fears. This woman also died at the Nandyal government hospital.