Chennai, April 25: The Tamil Nadu government on Saturday turned down the request of the family of neurosurgeon Simon Hercules who died of COVID-19 to bury his body at a cemetery in Kilpauk locality. The wife of Hercules had earlier appealed to Chief Minister K. Palaniswami to permit the casket containing her husband's body to be taken out from a different cemetery and bury it at a cemetery as per his last wish.

The Greater Chennai Corporation has decided to turn down the family's request based on an expert committee's decision. The Corporation said it is unsafe to take out the body and bury it elsewhere after it was buried safely first. The 55-year old Hercules died here recently at a private hospital and his mortal remains were taken to Kilpauk cemetery, but the locals protested against the burial fearing spread of virus. Tamil Nadu Announces 'Intense Lockdown' in Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Tirupur and Salem From April 26-29 to Curb COVID-19 Spread; Here's What it Means.

His body was then taken to a different cemetery where a large crowd gathered and attacked the ambulance and its occupants protesting against the burial there. However, the body was buried after police intervened. The police have arrested 20 persons in this connection. On Wednesday Chief Minister K. Palaniswami spoke to Hercules' wife Anandhi Simon and consoled her. In a video message, she appealed to Palaniswami to shift the casket containing his mortal remains to the Kilpauk cemetery as per his last wish. She said her husband before being put on the ventilator had expressed his wish to be buried as per the family ritual.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 25, 2020 07:21 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).