MANGALURU: When family members refused to even see the body of a 62-year-old Brahmin who died due to age-related illness, a Muslim social worker came forward to perform the last rites here on Thursday, reports Vinobha KT. Mohammed Asif cremated the body according to Hindu rituals and immersed the ashes in the sea near Vadabhandeshwara Temple at Uddinahithlu, Malpe, as per the wishes of the kin, who stayed away over Covid fears.
‘Siblings refused to perform 62-year-old man’s last rites’
The deceased was not married and had four siblings. All of them refused to perform the last rites and didn’t turn up at the crematorium. Fear of contracting coronavirus could be a reason for family members to not receive the body. When I spoke to his sister in Bengaluru, she asked me to perform the rites. I sought permission of the Mulky police permission before taking the body to Hindu Rudrabhumi in the town,” he added.
Asif spotted the abandoned man in 2018 and brought him to his orphanage in Mulky. “He was unwell in the past few days. We shifted him to Mulky Government Hospital on Thursday morning. He died hours later. He was diabetic and a hypertension patient. Since he died due to age-related ailments, doctors ruled out a Covid-19 test on him,” Asif, who also drives a private ambulance, told TOI.
“I did this as a human being respecting another. I have been running Maimoona Foundation, a charitable organisation for orphans to help people in the coastal region,” Asif said.