Helped 1,100 Families For COVID Cremation, Cop Posted At Delhi Crematorium Postpones Daughter's Wedding

At a time when those away from their families are yearning for a get together, this super cop has been relentlessly serving the society leaving his family behind in Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat. The 56-year-old Delhi Police Assistant Sub-Inspector posted at Delhi¡¯s Lodhi Crematorium has helped more than a thousand grieving families amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rakesh Kumar who has served for 36 years and currently posted at Hazrat Nizamuddin police station, has been deployed at the crematorium in central Delhi since April 13. A few days back, he had cancelled his daughter's wedding slated to be held on May 7.

PTI

"How can I leave and celebrate?"

¡°Though I wear a PPE kit and double-mask every time, I don¡¯t want to put my family members at risk. And there are many families here who need our help. This is my duty now. How can I leave and celebrate my daughter¡¯s wedding?¡± he said.

As part of his duty, he comes to the crematorium every day at 7 am and stays there till the end of the day. Throughout the day, he assists priests and crematorium staff in managing the cremations. Rakesh Kumar said that Lodhi crematorium, which has a capacity to cremate 47 bodies in a day, is receiving nearly 60 bodies every day. Before the pandemic, the daily count was less than 10.

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"I light pyres, buy material for puja"

¡°I come to the ground around 7 am and help priests and workers set up the place. During the day, I help light pyres, pick up bodies, buy material for puja and coordinate with ambulance drivers. Since April 13, I have helped cremate more than 1,100 bodies. Many of them had Covid. Their family members couldn¡¯t make it, so we helped the one attendant who would come. I leave the ground around 7-8 pm,¡± said Kumar.

Express Photo

His wife and their three children ¡ª two sons and a daughter ¡ª live in Baghpat, while he stays at the police barracks in Nizamuddin and visits his family once in 15-20 days.

"Their pain, suffering can't be explained"

¡°There are times when a woman or an elderly person loses their loved one and is alone. They don¡¯t know what to do. The ambulances put the bodies outside the ground and leave. We have to help them. I have helped children cremate their parents and grandparents. The second wave is bad. I remember helping a teenager perform the last rites of his father; that pain and suffering can¡¯t be explained,¡± said Kumar.

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Kumar will retire in four years and wants to help as many people as he can. He said he isn¡¯t scared of the pandemic and the virus because his seniors have guided him to take all necessary precautions, and he had received two doses of the Covid vaccine a month ago.