Jammu: National Conference provincial president Devender Singh Rana on Sunday sought a probe by National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) into the shocking death of two relatives of a COVID-19 patient who passed away in Jammu last week.
The Jammu district administration had already ordered a magisterial probe into the death of Vimal Zadoo and his cousin brother Vipan Zadoo on Thursday during the cremation of their uncle who breathed his last a day earlier after testing positive for coronavirus.
The family of the deceased, who were tested negative for coronavirus, claimed that they died of dehydration due to alleged negligence by the government.
“Not only was the necessary protocol ignored but no compassion or attention was reportedly shown by the designated personnel, which led to the deaths in the most tragic circumstances,” Rana said, describing the incident as the worst “human tragedy” and “grave violation” of human rights.
The NC provincial president said the scope of inquiry needed to be scaled up to find out the truth and to restore faith of the people in the system.
“Such negligence and pathetic approach negates the good work being done by frontline workers in fighting the pandemic and therefore it is imperative to identify the wrong-doers so that they are dealt as per law,” he said, adding that the incident has shaken the conscience of the people, who received this chilling news with shock and disbelief.
Rana expressed solidarity with the families who lost their kin, saying no words were enough to console their great loss.
