Police showed their humane side by performing the final rites of a suspected COVID infected person in the village of Perlavani Lanka in Mandal Nagayalanka in Krishna district on Saturday.
A woman, aged 38 suspected of suffering from the virus, died on Saturday. Her 33-year-old brother died of COVID on Friday.
Krishna Police Superintendent M. Ravindranath Babu said the woman had an illness and died on Saturday. When residents raised a shade and wept to remove the body, the police team, led by Avanigadda CI Bheemeswara Ravi Kumar and Nagayalanka SI Kuchipudi Srinivas, rushed to the scene.
“The unmarried woman gave the sample on Friday, the results of which are still pending. Suspected of dying from COVID-19, residents demanded that their elderly parents remove the body from the village immediately, “said Avanigadda, deputy superintendent of Police Sk. Masoom Basha.
“Neither the relatives nor the locals came forward to move the body. Instead, they asked for the body to be removed. The villagers refused to give a vehicle to bring the body to the tomb, ”said Ravi Kumar.
The village sarpanch’s husband, Manikyala Rao, arranged his tractor, and when no one came to drive the vehicle, policeman K. Kalyan Kumar was driving the tractor, Babu said.
Additional SP Mallika Garg said Avanigadda MLA Simhadri Ramesh Babu provided the pouch, sodium hypochlorite and other materials to move the body. He oversaw the entire process in the cemetery, she said.
“The CI, along with Nagayalanka SI, plumbing worker Lakshmaiah, and journalist Venkat, performed the patient’s final rites by following all COVID norms. The village was redeveloped later, ”said the SP and appreciated the team for taking on the occasion.