M S Sivakumar (56), the social activist who had given decent burials to hundreds of unclaimed bodies kept at government hospitals, succumbed to injuries sustained after he fell off his moving two-wheeler, on Wednesday.
A grievously injured Sivakumar was found lying unconscious on Poonamallee High Road near Central Railway Station around 2.30 pm on Tuesday. He was rushed to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, where he breathed his last on Wednesday.
Police ruled out a hit-and-run case as investigations with locals and shopkeepers revealed that Sivakumar fell off his bike when he tried to grasp a file that was slipping off the fuel tank.
One of Sivakumar’s friends said he was staying in the city with his sister. His family in Kerala was informed about his death and they are expected to come to the city to claim his body. His family members were expected to arrive on Friday morning.
Sivakumar ran an organisation called ‘Help Centre’, which focused on disposing unidentified dead bodies kept in the mortuaries.
He strongly believed that everybody deserved a decent burial. He began coordinating with hospitals and police in 2007 to bury hundreds of unclaimed bodies kept in the mortuaries of government hospitals for several months.
He believed that unclaimed bodies could be identified if the police and health department coordinated their activities.
Expressing shock at Sivakumar’s untimely death, TN DGP K Ramanujam said, “It’s very sad that a man who worked with such passion met with such a premature and tragic end. He brought to my notice how bodies were being kept for months together in mortuaries. His information goaded us in to action.”