Delhi dad returned home last week after Covid treatment. Today his family buried him

Discharged from Delhi's LNJP Hospital after Covid treatment on 26 June, Shaji John tested positive again and died within days.

Shaji John's family at his funeral Saturday at the Alpha Omega Christian Welfare Cemetery in Mongolpuri | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrint

New Delhi: Shaji John, a 56-year-old private firm employee in Bawana, Delhi, stopped going to work in January because of a kidney ailment. He had to visit the hospital twice a week for dialysis.

Towards the end of May, he started having breathing problems and was advised by doctors to get a Covid-19 test. When the result came back positive, John was admitted to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital (LNJP) on 3 June. He was discharged after he tested negative on 26 June and was sent back home to his wife and two daughters.

However, because of his kidney ailment, he still had to go for his dialysis procedure, for which he needed two Covid-negative test reports. When the family went to a private hospital for the test, he tested positive again.

John had to be readmitted at LNJP Hospital on 1 July, where his condition started deteriorating two days later. On 3 July, when his younger daughter Aliza called him around 11.45 pm, the doctor received the call and informed them that his condition was critical.

“The doctor told us he is having breathing problems, we will carry out dialysis tomorrow morning,” Aliza told ThePrint.

About half-an-hour later, Aliza got a call from her father, who said he was having trouble breathing. “I told him, please do not worry, pray and sleep,” she said. “The next morning, we were informed that my father had passed away.”

ThePrint’s Praveen Jain and Manisha Mondal went to John’s funeral at the Alpha Omega Christian Welfare Cemetery in Mongolpuri, the only Christian burial ground designated for Covid patients in the national capital.

Wreaths lie beside the pit dug for John’s burial at the Alpha Omega Christian Welfare Cemetery | Manisha Mondal | ThePrint

John is transferred to a coffin, his final resting place | Praveen Jain | ThePrint

A priest offers prayers near John’s body before his burial | Manisha Mondal | ThePrint

A small ceremony with readings from the Bible takes place before the coffin is lowered into the ground | Praveen Jain | ThePrint

Shaji John is survived by his wife and two daughters. From left to right: Aliza Shaji (John’s younger daughter), Sheryl Shaji (his widow) and Angel Shaji (his elder daughter) | Praveen Jain | ThePrint

The heartbroken family looks on at John’s coffin | Manisha Mondal | ThePrint

Aliza was the last person John spoke to before his death | Praveen Jain | ThePrint

The coffin is lowered into the ground. The Mongolpuri cemetery, a designated Covid burial ground, has seen 19 burials so far | Praveen Jain | ThePrint

After the coffin is lowered into the grave, the priest performs the final rituals | Praveen Jain | ThePrint

After the completion of the ceremony, the ground is levelled over John’s grave | Praveen Jain | ThePrint