New Delhi: In a major relief for hundreds of grieving relatives and family members whose relatives recently died abroad following the outbreak of global pandemic COVID-19, the Union government today clarified that the mortal remains of Indians and OCI card holders can be received in India by obtaining approval from health, and external affairs ministries.
“The undersigned is directed to clarify that the immigration functions in respect of the arrival of dead bodies and mortal remains of Indian nationals/OCI Card Holders are permitted subject to strict adherence to the guidelines issued by various ministries,” said an office memorandum issued by a director level official in the immigration section of foreign affairs division under the ministry of home affairs.
The office memorandum, bearing no. 25022/06/22, issued today (25.04.2020) under the most urgent category, says that the mortal remains can be received after submission of no objection certificate (NoC), approval or concurrence from the ministry of health and family welfare and also from the ministry of external affairs.
“SOP issued by the ministry of health and family welfare in this regard must be strictly adhered to,” said the office memorandum, a copy of which was reviewed by ETV Bharat.
Read| Young son's body flown in-out of India within hours; leaving distraught parents clueless
Why grieving relatives faced problem
The issue was highlighted by ETV Bharat following the problem faced by the relatives of a 23 year old native of Tehri Garhwal in Uttarakhand, who died in Abu Dhabi on April 17.
His body, along with the mortal remains of three other Indian passport holders, were flown to India on April 23 onboard an Etihad Flight EY9809, however, the Bureau of Immigration Authorities refused the permission for their unloading at Delhi airport.
The relatives of Tehri Garhwal native Kamlesh Bhatt (23), who had reached Delhi airport, by arranging a special pass, to receive his body, had to return following the refusal of permission by immigration authorities.
'According to the sources, mortal remains of at least three persons, including the remains of deceased Kamalesh Bhatt, were flown to India on the night of 22-23 April and flown back within hours due to lack of permission by immigration authorities.'
What is even more disconcerting is the fact that as per the post mortem report of Kamlesh Bhatt, a copy of which was reviewed by ETV Bharat, the cause of his death was cardiac arrest and not the COVID-19 virus.
The human tragedy was highlighted by ETV Bharat as the grieving parents of deceased Kamlesh Bhatt were deprived of performing his last rites as per their customs and traditions despite having a written permission from Indian Consulate in Abu Dhabi.
It prompted the ministry of home affairs to today clarify that the immigration function with regard to receipt of mortal remains of Indians and OCI (Overseas Citizens of India) cardholders can be performed.
Kerala CM writes to Prime Minister Modi
The issue was also raised by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In his letter dated April 23, Pinarayi Vijayan highlighted the problems faced by the family members of those Indian passport holders who died abroad in recent time due to non-Covid reasons but their family members faced problems due to stringent measures adopted by the ministry of home affairs.
In his letter, Pinarayi Vijayan asked Prime Minister Modi to intervene so that the grieving family members can receive the mortal remains of their loved ones in a hassle free manner.
The highly infectious virus has killed 779 people in the country and more than 1.98 lakh people across the globe in just four months after its detection in Wuhan, China.
(With inputs from ETV Bharat Deputy News Editor Krishnanand Tripathi, Dehradun Bureau Kirankant Sharma, and Tehri stringer Arvind Nautiyal)
