Tension prevailed at the Mavoor Road crematorium in Kozhikode city on Tuesday as the crematorium staff refused to cremate the body of Asokan from Chekyad who succumbed to the Nipah viral infection.
Asokan’s body was brought to the electric crematorium on Mavoor Road at first, but could not be cremated, as there was an equipment failure.
When the relatives approached the nearby traditional crematorium, the staff refused to do the work. Relatives of the deceased in a complaint to the Kozhikode municipal Corporation alleged that the staff had refused to cremate Asokan’s body based on misconception that the virus would spread with the smoke. They allegedly used foul language against the relatives and also disrespected the body.
Health officer of the Kozhikode Corporation R.S. Gopakumar, who intervened following the directions of the District Collector and Director of Health Services, tried to mediate, but in vain.
Asokan’s body had to be kept for seven hours before it was cremated in a mobile crematorium brought from Ivar Madham in Palakkad.
Dr. Gopakumar said the Corporation had filed a police complaint and had sought action against the staff of the crematorium for the above cited reasons. The crematorium belonged to the Corporation, but was managed by private individuals, he said.
