[Watch] Family Caught Throwing COVID-19 Patient's Body Over Bridge, Into River

A shocking video that has surfaced online has left people aghast for showing two people, one of them wearing a full PPE suit, allegedly throwing a COVID-19 patient’s body into a river during a rainy day in Uttar Pradesh, India.

The incident reportedly happened on May 28 in Uttar Pradesh's Balrampur district on the bridge over River Rapti and was shot by the people passing by the spot.

The 45-second video shows two men, one of them wearing a full personal protective equipment (PPE) suit, lifting the dead body onto the ledge of a bridge in the heavily pouring rain. The man in the PPE suit can be seen manhandling the body, as he struggles to get the remains out of the body bag, reported NDTV.

“Preliminary investigations have revealed that the patient was admitted to hospital on May 25, and he died three days later on May 28. As per Covid protocol, the body was handed over to his relatives. Preliminary investigations reveal that the relatives threw the body into the river. We have filed a case and strict action will be taken,” said Balrampur Chief Medical Officer VB Singh.

Authorities have identified the body to have belonged to a man named Premnath, a resident of Shohratgadh Siddharathanagar, reported India Today. According to The Wire, two of his relatives have reportedly been arrested in connection with the dumping of Premnath's body.

The body has been seized by authorities from the river and returned to his next of kin. According to Hindustan Times, Sanjay Shukla from Mankaura Kashiram, and unnamed another man, faces charges under the Pandemic Act and Disaster Management Act, filed against the duo on Saturday, May 29.

Dr. AP Mishra, the nodal officer of the hospital where Premnath was admitted, allegedly revealed that Shukla received the body on Saturday afternoon and asked for an ambulance to carry the remains up to a crematorium near Rapti River.

Hundreds of dead bodies reportedly washed up on the banks of the Ganga earlier this month as mass shallow graves were exposed at the river banks in the districts of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

Recently, over 2,000 dead bodies were reportedly found to be hastily buried or abandoned on the banks of Ganga. Many of these bodies were suspected to be of people who had died of COVID-19, belonging to families that didn’t have the means to cremate them.

India's Ministry of Health has reportedly ordered several northern states to look into the matter. In a letter to the states, the center had also asked local government units to increase patrol along riverbanks to stop the horrible practice.