True hero: Cop postpones daughter's wedding, helps cremate bodies at Lodhi Road crematorium

New Delhi: A face shield covering on his face, a pair of white gloves protecting his hands, and a will to serve those who have succumbed to the deadly Covid-19 virus, 56-year-old Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Rakesh Kumar helps cremate the spiralling number of bodies at the Lodhi Road crematorium here as the capital buckles under the pandemic's second wave.

The ASI says that he is only trying to help the grieving families in conducting the funeral services as he considers it his duty to do so. "I have even postponed my daughter's wedding which was fixed around this time as I thought that it can take a back seat when I'm dealing with something much more serious here," he tells Millennium Post.

Kumar, hailing from Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat, says that he arrives at the crematorium at 6 in the morning and starts setting up the pyres and makes arrangements for other rituals. "This is the best service one can do for the society… I consider it my duty to help these families…"

The 56-year-old, posted with the Nizamuddin Police Station, says that he doesn't fear getting infected with the virus as he follows all protocols and has taken both jabs of the vaccine. "How can I have fear...there is absolutely nothing to fear, I have to do this as part of my duty," he says. Kumar was posted at the Lodhi Road crematorium on April 15 and says he has handled over 100 Covid casualties.

"Often only a few relatives come to cremate their loved ones and that's when I help them in taking the body and setting it up on the pyre," Kumar adds.

ASI Kumar, who joined service in 1986 as a constable, says that his 10-member family back in his village, including two grandchildren, know that he is helping cremate bodies and feel proud of him. "They know that I am doing a noble deed and support me," he says.

On the increasing pressure the crematorium has been facing, Kumar says that a lot of the workers have contracted the virus already while the space for burning bodies is fast running out.

"Initially we dealt with 15 bodies but then the number kept increasing and now we have close to 50 bodies each day...we have to burn the casualties in between the pyres to accommodate the demand...I pray to god that things soon return back to normalcy," Kumar says.