Khaprakhol: Block development officer Tarani Suna here played Good Samaritan and helped carry the body of a destitute for cremation after residents of Banjipali under this block in Bolangir district refused to conduct the last rites fearing social ostracizm, a report said.
The deceased, identified as Natha Baba, 60, was a native of Umet in Nagpur (Maharashtra). He was homeless and earning his living by palm reading and begging. He stayed at the passenger rest shed in the village.
Baba, bedridden for a week following some disease, succumbed while lying at the rest shed Monday night, the villagers said. Bogged down by superstition and social stigma, the villagers, despite knowing his plight, did not admit him to a hospital for treatment nor were they prepared to conduct his cremation.
On being informed by media persons, the BDO reached the spot and urged the villagers to cremate the body. However, no one was prepared to carry the body to the cremation ground as the deceased was ‘an outsider.’
The BDO finally volunteered to carry the body when a lawyer Rana Pradhan, social activists Prabin Purohit and Chaturbhuja Kumbhar, samiti member Sobhanmaya Mishra and Yusuf Mohammed stepped in. He also informed a relative of the deceased at Sohela in Bargarh district and cremated the body after their arrival. When contacted, the BDO said he has earlier helped many patients and had conducted several cremations as these small gestures give him satisfaction.
PNN