BARIPADA: In a shocking incident, an ostracised tribal man was forced to carry his wife’s body on a trolley-rickshaw to perform her last rites after his relatives refused to lend him a helping hand on Monday night.
The incident came to light after a video of the man, identified as Khela Soren of Sanajunupala village within Kaptipada police limits, pulling the trolley with his wife’s body on it went viral on social media on Tuesday.
Khela, who belongs to Santal tribe, had brought her wife Raimata to Pandit Raghunath Murmu Medical College and Hospital (MCH) in a 108 ambulance when she complained of labour pain on Sunday. In the evening, Raimata gave birth to a baby boy but soon after, she breathed her last. Since no one was accompanying him, Khela was forced to leave his newborn at the hospital and took his wife’s body to his relative’s house at Urmala village by a Mahaprayan vehicle arranged by the hospital on Monday. The hearse returned after dropping off Raimata’s body at Urmala.
Khela had hoped that his relatives would help him to perform Raimata’s last rites. However, he got a shock when they refused. Finding no other option, he approached Udala police who arranged an auto-rickshaw to drop Khela and his wife’s body at Sanajunupala.However, the tribal man asked the auto driver to drop him midway. He contacted one of his neighbours who arranged a trolley-rickshaw for him.
Khela put his wife’s body on it and was on way to bury the body in Nabra forest when passersby captured his video.Khela said he had misbehaved with a woman a few years back and since then he had been ostracised by villagers. “I could not go to the village and hence, decided to cremate my wife’s body in the forest,” he added.After performing Raimata’s last rites, Khela went back to the MCH to bring his baby boy.