UP: Shocking Video Of Covid Patient's Body Being Dumped In River Surfaces, Relatives Booked

In the video, it can be seen that a couple of people who were driving by the spot ended up witnessing the act as 2 men placed the dead body on the bridge over river Rapti.

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Balrampur: A shocking video has surfaced on social media wherein the dead body of a Covid patient is being thrown in a river in Uttar Pradesh's Balrampur district.

This video comes in after thousands of dead bodies being dumped in the Ganga got national and international attention. There were reports of bodies being found shallow buried on the banks of the holy river.

The fresh incident took place in the Balrampur district on May 28.

In the video, it can be seen that a couple of people who were driving by the spot ended up witnessing the act as 2 men, one of them wearing a PPE kit, placed the body draped in orange cloth on the bridge over river Rapti.

While earlier there were doubts as to whether the dead body is of a Covid patient, the Chief Medical Officer of Balrampur  Vijay Bahadur Singh later confirmed that it was indeed the case, the deceased patient's relatives were trying to dump it in the river.

The officer informed that the patient was identified as Prem Nath Mishra who was admitted to hospital on May 25 and died on May 28. A case has been filed against the relatives and the body has been handed back to the family as per Covid protocol.

"Prem Nath Mishra was hospitalised on May 25 after he contracted COVID-19 and succumbed to the disease on May 28. The body was handed over to family members as per the COVID-19 protocol. In the video, which went viral on social media, it can be seen that the body was thrown into the Rapti river," he said.

Earlier, taking cognisance of the shocking visuals reported near river Ganga, CM Yogi Adityanath had asked for areas around all rivers of the state to be patrolled by water police of the State Disaster Response Force and Provincial Armed Constabulary. He had asked them to ensure that the bodies were not disposed of in water under any condition, a government spokesperson informed.

Amid mounting criticism over such incidents, CM Adityanath also instructed officials to seek help from religious leaders in creating awareness among people for not dumping bodies in the rivers.