UMERKOTE: A dispute over the last rites of a tribal woman who had reportedly converted to Christianity ended on Wednesday, two days after her death, with her mortal remains finally buried at Laharakhani village under Nabarangpur’s Papadahandi block.
The deceased is Gagiri Gond (76) of Odandi village under Raighar police limits. She died around 8 pm on Monday following an illness. Soon after her death, her family attempted to perform her last rites at the village cremation ground. However, a section of villagers reportedly objected, claiming she had converted to Christianity.
The objection led to tension in the village, preventing the family from conducting the last rites. Police and administrative officials reached Odandi and held discussions with people on opposing sides to resolve the dispute.
Umerkote IIC Jugal Sabar, Papadahandi SDPO Surjit Kandankel and Raighar additional tehsildar Shivani Nayak held talks with the two sides. Efforts were also made to find an alternative place for the cremation, but no immediate solution could be reached.
As the dispute continued, the family took Gagiri’s body to Keskal in neighbouring Chhattisgarh, where her daughter resides, hoping to perform the last rites according to family customs. However, the family reportedly faced opposition there as well, forcing them to bring the body back to Odisha on Wednesday morning.
Gagiri’s last rites were finally performed according to Christian rituals at Laharakhani village in Papadahandi block around noon on Wednesday, in the presence of police.