In Rajasthan 34-Year-Old Girl Jumps Into Father’s Burning Pyre Who Succumbed To COVID-19

Rajasthan girl jumps into burning pyre: A girl distressed by the death of her father, jumped into his burning pyre on Tuesday evening in Rajasthan’s Barmer district.

The 34-year-old girl is in a critical condition with 70 percent burns and currently admitted to a Jodhpur hospital after preliminary treatment, the police said. Her father, Damodardas Sharda, 73, died due to COVID-19 complications.

The family lost Sharda at a local hospital on Tuesday the police stated. He was admitted on Sunday. While he was being cremated, the youngest of his three daughters, Chandra Kala Sharda, suddenly jumped on the pyre, the police said. After getting the information, the police pulled out her scorched body which sustained around 70 percent burn injuries. She was rushed to a nearby hospital and referred to Jodhpur for treatment.

Following Sharda's death, the hospital authorities handed over his body to his family members, as per the COVID-19 protocol, for the last rites.

Prem Prakash, Station House Officer in  Kotwali police station, said Chandra is the youngest of Sharda’s three daughters and she insisted on accompanying the body to the crematorium for the last rites. There were no male members in the family and she was allowed to go in during the process of the last rite. His wife also passed away some time back. Saddened by the death of her father, the youngest of the sisters jumped on the funeral pyre, Prakash said. Chandra, a resident of Rai Colony of Barmer, was somehow pulled out by others present at the spot.

They also informed the police and called an ambulance, which rushed her to the government hospital at Barmer, Prakash added.

Read about MIS-C syndrome and can it affect children post COVID-19 here

Rajasthan reported a record 16,974 new cases of the deadly viruse on Tuesday, taking the state's death toll to 4,866 and its infection tally to 6,68,221.

Feature Image credit: Mangalore Today