Locals oppose cremation of Covid-19 patient bodies at Swarnarekha Burning Ghat, stones pelted at police, one injured

Jamshedpur: Swarnarekha Burning Ghat area turned into a virtual battlefield as locals living around it gathered to oppose the planned cremation of two persons who died of Covid-19 on Saturday in TMH.

The administration finally managed to cremate one deceased, who was a Sonari resident. But even before that the district administration had to face a lot of opposition from the locals. A large posse of policemen was deployed at the cremation ground area.

As the cremation was going on the angry locals started pelting stones on the policemen. This caused injuries to a woman police constable and she was rushed to hospital for treatment.

After the stone pelting incident, the police too started taking strict action. This furthered angered the locals and they surrounded the crematorium.

An 88-year-old woman patient had also died of Corona yesterday in TMH. She also has to be cremated. In view of fierce opposition to the cremation of first decease, completing the cremation of the second deceased may prove challenging for the police forces.

The entire area is full of supporters of JMM leader and former minister Dulal Bhuiyan.

The SDO of Jamshedpur, Chandan Kumar feels that vested interests may have been behind this opposition to cremation.

He said that all the prescribed protocols are being followed for cremation. He also pointed out that it is illegal to oppose cremation on the grounds that the death was caused by any specific disease.

This is a developing story and we will keep you posted about the latest developments.