The Harmony Foundation has honoured a doctor, who conducted the last rites of his colleague in the midst of mob fury, with a certificate of appreciation.
During the first few weeks of the nation-wide COVID-19 induced lockdown, Simon Hercules, a Chennai-based neurosurgeon, who contracted the infection from one of his patients, succumbed to it.
His friend and colleague Pradeep Kumar, an orthopaedic surgeon, who tried to conduct the last rites was attacked by mobs in two cemeteries and prevented from conducting the burial of the 55-year-old doctor.
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Dr. Pradeep Kumar, however, took it on himself to bury his colleague with the help of two ward boys, at a cemetery in the City in the middle of the night.
The windscreen of the ambulance in which the body was taken to the cemetery was smashed and even the casket was not spared.
Abraham Mathai, chairman of the foundation and former vice-chairman of Minorities Commission, said, “Putting his life in danger to honour a departed colleague is indeed a high degree of sacrifice that has earned him a place in the pantheon of those who have distinguished themselves in the face of incredible odds. It is for this selflessness that Harmony Foundation wishes to recognise Dr. Pradeep Kumar by awarding him a Certificate of Appreciation.”
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