New Delhi: A clash broke out between police and locals after the body of an elderly woman, possibly infected with Coronavirus, was brought to the designated cremation ground in Chandpura in Ambala.
Residents of Chandpura village, adjoining the Ambala cantonment, attempted to disrupt the last rites of the woman being performed at the local cremation ground in the evening. The villagers suspected that the woman might have died of COVID-19 infection and feared that the cremation would spread the virus in the area, they said.
The crowd was assured that there was no such risk and asked not to oppose the cremation, police officials said. Police said the woman died at a civil hospital at Ambala Cantt in the afternoon. She had been admitted there after complaining of breathing problems, they added.
#WATCH Haryana: A clash broke out between police & locals after the body of an elderly woman, possibly infected with #COVID19, was brought to the designated cremation ground in Chandpura, Ambala. (27.04.20) pic.twitter.com/BQEXHOAkxx
— ANI (@ANI) April 27, 2020
As a precautionary measure, doctors collected her sample and sent it for testing, hospital sources said. When the relatives of the deceased reached the cremation ground at Chandpura, the villagers opposed them, the police said. Following reports of tension, senior police officers reached the area but the villagers refused to budge, they said.
Superintendent of Police, Ambala, Abhishek Jorwal said around a dozen villagers were taken into custody and further investigations were underway.
