Jitender Singh Shunty is running free ambulance service, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Sewa Dal, for over two decades. His team has been picking up bodies from hospitals and homes free of cost right through the pandemic.
(Image: Arnica Kala/The Quint)
Video Editor: Puneet Bhatia/Mohd Irshad Alam
(This story was first published on 1 May 2021. It is being reposted from The Quint's archives, after Jitender Singh Shunty was awarded the Padma Shri for his services during the second wave of COVID-19 in India.)
The super spreader second COVID-19 wave in India has locked up most of us at home. But there are some good samaritans who are out there helping those in need.
One such person is Jitender Singh Shunty, who has been running a free ambulance service, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Sewa Dal, in East Delhi, for over two decades.
He has set up a makeshift office outside the Seemapuri crematorium. His team has been picking up bodies from hospitals and homes free of cost right through the pandemic. But he says the last few weeks have been nightmarish.
The Quint did a ground report from Seemapuri crematorium on 27 April. We spent almost six hours there, watching as bodies were brought in every 10 to 20 minutes.
Shunty's ambulance helpline number was ringing non-stop. We even accompanied Shunty's ambulances as they went to pick up bodies from people's homes.
Jitender Singh Shunty talking to people who have come to cremate loved ones.
On 27 April, 105 bodies were cremated in Seemapuri crematorium alone. Shunty said that the Delhi government is not revealing the true numbers of COVID-19 deaths.
Shunty says that the second wave has hit all age groups, not even sparing the young this time.
Shunty's team, working selflessly on the frontline, has also suffered during the pandemic. One of his team members passed away during the first COVID wave. Even now, one of his team members has been In ICU since 25 April, and three team members have tested positive.
Ravi, is a florist in Delhi. Due to lockdown, he has been out of work. He recently joined Shunty's team as volunteer.
Ravi is volunteering with Shaheed Bhagat Singh Sewa Dal.
Does your family stop you from doing this voluntary service?
My family scolds me, tries to stop me. But if family members don’t come forward to cremate then someone else has to do it.
Shunty recalls how on 25 April, his team found a body abandoned outside Seemapuri crematorium. As per procedure, he called police and informed them about the body, got it registered and then cremated it.
Shunty does not go home to protect his family. He spends the whole day outside the crematorium. Despite these challenges Shunty continues his work offering people dignity in death.
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