Objection over cremation of Covid-19 patient's body

The relatives of a deceased person allege that they were not allowed to cremate the dead body at Kaunia Moha Shoshan in Barishal district on Saturday. 

The deceased Nitai Chandra Shil, 45, who hailed from Kalaskathi village under Bakerganj upazila, was a hairdresser and died at the Coronavirus unit of Sher-E-Bangla Medical College Hospital in Barishal.

Nitai's relatives alleged that the crematorium committee even barred them from entering the crematorium, so, they had to wait on the road with the dead body in the rain for around five hours. 

Later, after negotiations with the deputy commissioner of Barishal, the crematorium permitted them to cremate the body. 

Nitai Chandra Shil used to work in his hairdressing shop in the district town. 

He was taken to Sher-E- Bangla Medical College Hospital when he suddenly had difficulty in breathing at around 10am on Saturday, said his relative. Later, he was referred to the Coronavirus unit of the hospital and died around 12:30pm the same day. 

The dead body was handed over to his family following standard procedure by 3.30pm.

The relatives then took the body to Kaunia Moha Shoshan for cremation. 

Knowing that the death was caused by Covid-19, Tamal Malakar, general secretary of the crematorium protection committee, and others, asked them to leave the place.  

Meanwhile, Nirmal Chandra, president of Barishal district hairdresser union, arrived at the spot. 

"Despite numerous requests, Tamal Malakar, Biplab Sen Gupta and others would not allow the dead body to be cremated  in the crematorium," Nirmal Chandra said. 

 "When we informed Manik Mukharjee, the crematorium protection committee president, he also told us to cremate the body at some other place," said Nirmal. 

The matter was eventually referred to the deputy commissioner, who requested the local Hindu leaders to take necessary steps to cremate the dead body, added Nirmal. 

"Following the negotiation of the deputy commissioner SM Ajior Rahman, the crematorium committee finally allowed the body to be cremated," Nirmal said. 

However, they had to wait until other bodies had been cremated and the place had cleared. Manik Mukherjee, president of the crematorium said that they were asked to enter later to avoid the crowd so that social distancing could be maintained. 

The dead body was beside the road from 3.30pm to 8.30pm when it was eventually cremated.