Mumbai cop shows piety and pride in others' last journey for 20 years

Police naik Dyandeo Ware said that people were afraid of even touching the unidentified bodies, let alone performing the last rites.
Mumbai police naik Dyandeo Ware (Photo| EPS)
Mumbai police naik Dyandeo Ware (Photo| EPS)

MUMBAI: Dyandeo Ware, a police naik at Tardeo police station, Mumbai, has performed last rites of more than one lakh bodies in his 20 years of service. Ware (52) joined the Mumbai police in 1995. He worked in Thane police station. In the year 2000, he joined as a hearse driver.

Ware said people were afraid of even touching the unidentified bodies, let alone performing the last rites. "I was also reluctant and a bit scared. My hands trembled and I saw dead bodies in my dreams. I used to have a fever and nausea after seeing the bodies," says Ware.

For days, he would not eat properly. "I spent several sleepless nights. Today, it is a part of my routine," says Ware. He said that God must have chosen him for the work. "I treat it as a service to man and God. My family supports me in noble work. If not us, who else would do justice to someone post their death?"

During the Covid peak, Ware performed the last rituals of 500 bodies declared positive for the pandemic. "It was a tough task to bring the dead bodies to the mortuaries/crematoriums. No one, not even the family members of the deceased, would come for the last rites for fear of infection. They performed the last rites by instructing me on the phone and watched them through WhatsApp video call," he said.

"The government has not given us PPE kit or other safety devices. We bought gloves and masks and handled the bodies. I had to convince my family that someone had to do the work. So, in the name of god many like me did the work," says Ware.

His wife supported him. "Whenever I came back home, she would sanitise me and wash my clothes immediately," says Ware. He performed the last rites of over 1,000 people in this period.

Ware said that BJP MLA Ashish Shelar called him to his residence along with his family members and felicitated him. "Our Home minister Anil Deshmukh also called me once over the phone and appreciated my work. This appreciation is the only motivation for me to keep doing the good work for the society," Ware said.

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