Shoranur bid farewell to the young woman who died in the Government Medical College Hospital, Thrissur, on Sunday of injuries sustained after being pushed out of the Ernakulam-Shoranur passenger train and allegedly raped on February 1.
Thousands of people gathered at the three places where the body was kept for the public to pay the last respects. They included her relatives, classmates and the local people. Political leaders and prominent persons offered condolences.
Tears rolled down the cheeks of many on seeing the body. The young woman was returning home from her workplace in Kochi when she fell victim to the attack.
The body was first taken to her ancestral house and kept for a few minutes there. Then it was taken to the school where she had studied. Her classmates broke down, giving her an emotionally charged farewell.
The body was then taken to her rented house where her parents and relatives wailed in an heart-rending scene.
She was cremated at Ivar Madhom on the banks of the Bharathapuzha. Thousands of people gathered at the cremation grounds.
M.B. Rajesh, MP, C.P. Mohammed, MLA, District Collector K.V. Mohan Kumar, Shoranur municipal chairman M.R. Murali and others paid homage to the victim.
Hartal total
A dawn-to-dusk hartal called by political parties such as the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Communist Party of India, the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party in the town in protest against the attack and the alleged failure of Railways to provide protection to its passengers was total and peaceful. Educational institutions, business establishments and markets remained closed.
Vehicles, including autorickshaws, were off the road.
