Maharashtra: After son ‘refuses’, Muslims from local group light 78-yr-old Hindu man’s pyre

After the family of a 78-year-old Hindu man, who died of a heart attack on Saturday, reportedly refused to perform his last rites, some Muslim youths from a local organisation lit his pyre on Sunday. While the man died of a heart attack, his wife is undergoing treatment for Covid-19 at Akola Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH). 

Prashant Rajurkar, head of the sanitation department of the Akola Municipal Corporation, told The Indian Express, “The man’s son, who lives in Nagpur, refused to accept the body and perform the funeral. So, a local Muslim organisation, Akola Kutchhi Memon Jamaat, took over the responsibility. On Sunday, some Muslim men lit the pyre at the crematorium.

Javed Zakeria, president of the Muslim organisation, said, “After Akola reported its first death, we decided to perform funerals for those whose families are unable to do so. We had permission from the parents for the first one. Since then, we have performed 60 funerals, of which 21 were of Covid patients. Five of these were of Hindus.