Mob stops funeral of Indian doctor who died from COVID-19

At least 20 people have been arrested in south India for violently preventing the burial of a prominent doctor who died from COVID-19 complications.

The renowned Dr Simon Hercules was not given a dignified burial as his friends and family were attacked on Sunday night when they took his body to a burial ground in Chennai.

The ambulance carrying the body was smashed, the health inspectors, ambulance driver and attendant wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) were injured, and the driver of the JCB machine that dug the grave was also injured in the attack.

One of his friends had to quietly bury him in the early hours of Monday without any family members present. He said the neurosurgeon did not deserve this end. “He was not shown even basic humanity. Even his wife and son couldn’t be there to say goodbye,” Dr Pradeep told a local news website.

Dr Bhagyaraj, a colleague of Dr Simon, said at one point they had to abandon the body and flee to save themselves from the mob. They later came back to collect the body.

Dr Simon Hercules, a Chennai-based neurosurgeon, passed away on Sunday night after battling the coronavirus for two weeks. He was on ventilator support towards the end when he suffered a cardiac arrest on Sunday evening.

Various doctors’ associations have condemned the incident and requested the government to ensure such incidents are not repeated again. They have requested the government to ensure people are made aware that the virus does not spread if the body is buried there as due care and protocol are followed in burial and cremation.

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