Earthmover dumps 3 bodies in Nellore, investigation on

The Nellore district administration on Friday ordered a probe into the incident of the local municipal staff allegedly carrying the bodies of three Covid-19 victims in an earth mover and then dumping them into a grave, at a spot adjacent to Penna river.

A video, shot late in the evening by a person crossing the highway adjacent to the river, showed some people in personal protective equipment (PPE) taking out three bodies from an ambulance and dumping them in the earth mover.

In another video, the earthmover could be seen carrying the bodies to a pit a few metres away and dumping all of them into it.

As the videos went viral on social media and were played on local television channel, the chief minister’s office ordered the Nellore district administration to conduct an inquiry.“A detailed inquiry has been ordered into the burial of the dead bodies of Covid-19 patients in Penna river. Nellore revenue divisional officer Hussian Saheb has been appointed as special officer and will conduct the inquiry,” an official statement from the CMO said.

Hussain Saheb, who is also a sub-divisional magistrate, said he would submit his inquiry report to the district collector.

The opposition Telugu Desam Party reacted to the inhuman treatment of the bodies by municipal staff.“Pained to see bodies of #Covid_19 patients in Nellore being disrespectfully thrown into a single pit using an Earthmover. This is happening time & again. @ysjagan Govt must offer an apology to the grieving families who wished for a respectful departure for their loved ones,” TDP president and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu tweeted.

This is the third such incident in Andhra Pradesh in the recent past. On July 6, municipal authorities in Tirupati had also used an earth mover to lift the body of a Covid-19 victim from the ambulance and then dumped it into a grave.

On June 26, the municipal staff in Palasa town in Srikakulam district used an earth mover to carry the body of a Covid-19 victim from his house for last rites, after the victim’s relatives refused to perform the last rites. On chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy’s instructions, the district authorities suspended six municipal employees over the incident.