Lucknow,  The Islamic Centre of India has formed a 15-member "Qabristan Sewa Samiti" to facilitate the last rites of persons dying of coronavirus in Lucknow district.

The committee will follow the safety protocol set by the health department, in keeping with the tenets of Islam.

The 15-member committee comprises private doctors, clerics and social workers.

Till date, the city has reported one death due to the coronavirus infection -- that of a 64-year-old patient who died here on Wednesday. The local people did not allow the burial of the deceased in the Aishbagh burial ground and the deceased was later buried elsewhere under tight police security.

Well known Sunni cleric, Maulana Khalid Rashid Firangi Mahali, who heads the Islamic Centre of India and is also Imam of the Aishbagh Eidgah, said that the need for formation of such a committee arose after locals did not allow burial of an elderly patient in the public graveyard of Aishbagh.

"The Aishbagh incident is highly condemnable. This happened due to misconceptions about performing the last rites of a person who dies due to a contagious disease," he said.

A fatwa was issued after the incident, by Darul Uloom Firangi Mahali based Darul Ifta for the burial of Muslims, who have died of COVID-19, as per the Islamic and WHO protocols.

"After the fatwa, we started receiving hundreds of phone calls from people who were not clear about the proper method for last rites in such cases. We realised that definite guidelines were needed in the matter. It was then that we decided to form a committee and also asked clerics in other districts to do the same," said the Maulana.