Bulandshahr doctor dies of COVID-19 in Delhi; family alleges cremation delayed

A middle-aged doctor from Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr has died due to coronavirus at a hospital here, official sources said on Saturday. The family of the 58-year-old doctor has alleged that when his body was taken for cremation at the Nigambodh Ghat in the national capital on Saturday, they had to "wait for many hours" before it could finally be done.

The man was brought to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi from a facility in Bulandshahr, and he died in the emergency ward, an official source said. His sample was taken which tested positive on Saturday, the source said. The wife and son of the deceased man alleged that they had to face a "lot of hassles" at the Nigambodh Ghat.

The cremation was to be done in a CNG-based crematorium, but there was no operator there and people were trying to avoid us, the wife alleged. Finally, after a couple of hours, an operator came from Bawana and the cremation could be carried out, she said. Officials of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation, which administers this crematorium, could not be immediately reached for comments.

Sources at Safdarjung Hospital also said authorities at the facility in Bulandshahr where he was taken first to, have been informed about his sample testing positive. His clinic and its surrounding areas have also been sealed by the UP Health Department, said Shashi Shekhar, the in-charge of a community health centre in Bulandshahr's Shikarpur area. The number of coronavirus cases in Delhi on Saturday rose to 1069, with five fresh deaths reported in a day, taking the toll from COVID-19 here to 19, authorities said.