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A family in Guna, Madhya Pradesh, reportedly performed a woman’s last rites outside a hospital mortuary after facing difficulties arranging her funeral. (Img: X)
Guna: A grieving family in Madhya Pradesh’s Guna was forced to perform the last rites of a 31-year-old woman outside a hospital mortuary after their landlord allegedly refused to allow her body to be brought into their rented house, citing the ongoing Navratri festival.
Pooja Rajak, who hailed from Shivpuri district, died at Guna District Hospital while undergoing treatment for cancer. Her condition had reportedly deteriorated during treatment. She is survived by two daughters and a son.
Following her death, the family faced difficulties arranging the funeral, as they had limited financial resources and no permanent home of their own. With the landlord reportedly unwilling to permit the body inside the rented accommodation during the festival, the family proceeded with the customary post-death rituals in an open courtyard near the hospital mortuary.
According to reports, Pooja’s father said the family did not challenge the landlord’s request. The rituals were eventually completed with assistance from local volunteers, including social worker Pramod Bhargava and Ram Singh Rajak, who helped the family make the necessary arrangements. After the ceremonies, Pooja’s body was taken to a cremation ground for the funeral.
Her father reportedly said that Pooja had been living with her parents for the past few years after becoming estranged from her husband, Rakesh Lashkari, who is from Indore. She had left her matrimonial home following a domestic dispute, amid her deteriorating health.
The incident has drawn attention to the distress faced by a financially vulnerable family at a time of bereavement, as religious observances and the lack of adequate support left them to conduct the woman’s final rites in the open.
