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LUCKNOW, India — Five gang members in India wore full protective gear to cremate a man they had murdered, pretending he died from Covid-19, police said Tuesday.
The victim was invited to a party by the men, whom he owed four million rupees ($54,000), and suffocated, according to police.
The gang wore full PPE and cremated the body at a facility in the northern city of Agra, registering the dead man under a false name, local police chief Muniraj G. said.
“To avoid being caught… they wore PPE kit and used a body bag to pack and transport the body to the cremation ground,” Muniraj G. said on Twitter.
“All the five accused have confessed to their crime.”
A tip-off from an informant led to the arrest of one of the men, according to a police statement.
India was devastated by a coronavirus third wave in April and May, overwhelming hospitals and crematoriums across the country. More than 1,000 people are still dying on average every day.