21 die after 150 attended Covid victim's burial in Raj

Twenty-one people died in as many days at a village in Rajasthan's Sikar district allegedly after a COVID-19-infected corpse was buried without following protocol.

However, officials said that only four deaths have occurred due to the virus between April 15 and May 5.

According to officials, a COVID-19-infected body was brought to Kheerva village on April 21 and about 150 people attended the last rites and the burial was done without following coronavirus protocol.

The body was taken out of the plastic bag and several people touched it during burial, they said.

"Only 3-4 deaths have occurred due to COVID-19 out of 21 deaths. A majority of deaths are from older age group. We have taken sample of 147 members of families where deaths have occurred to check whether it is Covid-19 community transmission," Lakshmangarh sub-divisional officer Kulraj Meena told PTI on Saturday.

He said that the administration has carried out sanitisation drive in the village. Villagers are explained about the severity of the problem and now they are cooperating.

Sikar's Chief Medical and Health Officer Ajay Chaudhary said that a report has been sought from the local authorities following which he will be able to comment on the matter.

Kheerva falls in Congress state president Govind Singh Dotasra's assembly constituency. He had first shared the information about deaths following burial of infected corpse on social media, but later removed it.

"With profound grief, I have to say that more than 20 people have lost their lives and several are infected," he had tweeted.