A man in a village in Boudh district of Odisha was forced to carry the body of his sister-in-law on a bicycle for funeral on Wednesday as none of his relatives and fellow villagers came out to help him.
According to sources, Chatru Banka of Krushnapalli village under Kantamala block had admitted his wife and sister-in-law to a hospital after they complained of severe diarrhoea. His sister-in-law died on Wednesday. Her body was brought to the village in an ambulance.
No villager at Krushnapalli came forward to help Banka arrange for the woman's funeral. Finally, he tied her body to his bicycle and carried it to the cremation ground all by himself.
Abakash Sahu, a Zilla Parishad member, claimed that Banka was facing an undeclared social ostracisation. “At times, for various reasons, locals in Boudh district do not take part in marriages and funerals of some persons,” he said.
Property dispute
Banka had snapped ties with his family members in the village because of a property dispute, said a local, Nabakishor Meher. He is said to have married outside his caste and not given a feast for which he was facing the ire of fellow villagers.
On August 16, 2017, a similar incident had happened at Basudebpalli village under Manmunda block of Boudh district. Due to the superstitions and stigma attached to leprosy, a man named Jayanarayn Sahu was denied a decent funeral in this village. As none of the villagers was ready to carry his body to the cremation ground, his daughter along with her brother and husband, performed the last rites.
