Police in India’s West Bengal state had to baton charge some residents of Bankura district after they blocked a crematorium to protest the cremation of two bodies of alleged COVID-19 patients on Tuesday night.
A video of the police action, showing the use of batons to disperse the protesting crowd, is going viral. People can be seen running to save themselves.
Residents claimed that they sensed foul play when two alleged COVID-19 patients were being cremated at night without any relatives, while health workers wore face masks.
West Bengal state’s main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party’s IT head slammed the governing Trinamool Congress party for refusing to acknowledge any deaths in the state.
According to the federal Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the country has reported 11,439 people as the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, while as many as 377 have lost their lives due to the virus and 1,305 have recovered from the deadly disease. However, there are 9,756 active cases of coronavirus patients.