KOLKATA: In an example of communal harmony and humanity, Muslim neighbours of a Hindu man helped perform his last rites in Jhargram district of West Bengal on Thursday. The 62-year-old man died after suffering a cardiac arrest shortly after being refused treatment by a doctor at the local health centre as he had not gone through a Covid-19 test. From gathering wood for the funeral to carrying the body to the crematorium, the neighbours helped his family perform all rituals.
Jugal Das was taken to Binpur rural hospital on Thursday morning after complaining of chest pain. “There was a lady doctor at the healthcare centre. We told her that my father had fever five days ago. She refused to examine my father and asked us to conduct Covid-19 test first and come only if he tests negative. We had to return home. In the afternoon, he complained of severe chest pain and died,” said Sujit, Jugal’s son.
As the news of his death spread, Jugal’s neighbours arrived at his house to help the family.
“In our village, there are about 300 Muslims families and 10 Hindu households. I will never forget what they did for us when an educated doctor refused to treat my father,” said Sujit. “We always come forward whenever anyone is in distress. When Jugal was admitted to SSKM Hospital in Kolkata in 2009, I spent three nights at the hospital,” Sheikh Kader, one of Jugal’s neighbours, said. Sheikh Siddiqui said he and others of his community collected wood, bought clothes and other items for Jugal’s last rites.