Daijiworld Media Network - Puttur

Puttur, Jun 16: In a heart-warming gesture, a group of Muslims assisted in conducting the final rites of a Hindu woman, after her own relatives and the locals refused to perform the funeral rituals.

Bhavani (52), a resident of Janavasati Colony at Vidyapura here, died of cardiac arrest early on Saturday June 16. She was unmarried. Following her death, her brother Krishna appealed to his relatives and the locals to help him conduct the last rites of his sister. However, none of them came forward to help him, and even till afternoon, the body remained at home.

When Vidyapura residents Shaukath, hamza, Nazeer, Riyaz and Farooq heard about Krishna's plight, they at once swung to action and collected funds to pay the crematorium and thus facilitate Bhavani's final rites. Not just that, when the relatives and the locals refused to bathe the body before the rites, Anganwadi teacher Rajeshwari, and locals Safia and Zubaida volunteered to do it. Thereafter, the youths brought an ambulance by which the body was taken to the cremation ground at Puttur. There, the group paid Rs 3,500 to the officials concerned and the funeral rites were conducted.

Speaking to reporters, Farooq who was among the group said, "We have facilitated Bhavani's funeral without considering caste or religion. We did not do it for publicity. All we want is that such incidents where a person is denied last rites never happen again. We had heard of such incidents being reported in places like Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, but it is unfortunate that a tragedy like this has happened in our own village. Our intention is to give a message to the society that it should never happen again.

"It is lamentable that the final rites were not conducted by those whose responsibility it was. There are Hindutva outfits here, but those who claim to protect the interests of their community were not available when their own people needed them. Even the president of Kabaka panchayat who is from BJP did not visit Bhavani's home. This is really sad," said Farooq.