Travails of a wife to cremate husband

Patna A heart-breaking incident came to light in Bihar's Munger district where a woman fled from a quarantine centre to perform last rites to her husband who passed away almost a week back.

Vikas Mandal, 28, a native of Ramnagar Patan village tested corona positive and his health deteriorated on May 13. His wife, Kanchan Devi, admitted him in Begusarai Sadar hospital where he died during treatment. As she was alone in the hospital, she requested help from her in-laws for cremation, but they refused. Kanchan then approached her own family, but they also did not help. Kanchan's mother, however, came forward and reached Begusarai Sadar hospital to help her daughter.

Both Kanchan and her mother decided to go to Munger and request the husband's kin again on May 14, but they refused. They also requested neighbours for help, but nobody came forward. Then, they decided to go to Samastipur's Patalia village under Vibhutipur police station, the native village of Kanchan Devi.

The male members of the family, instead of helping them, complained with district administration. The officials of the health department of Samastipur also did not address the issue of the two women and put them into quarantine centre. Kanchan and her mother requested the officials of the quarantine centre to release them so that they would go to Begusarai.

Eventually, Kanchan fled from the quarantine centre six days after her husband's death and on May 18 and reached Begusarai. "The victim requested the health officials of Sadar hospital to hand over the dead body of her husband. We immediately came forward and handed over the dead body for cremation. We have arranged the ambulance and sent the dead body to cremation ground at Simaria Ghat where Kanchan performed the last rites," said Sanjeev Kumar Chaudhary SDO Sadar of Begusarai.