Displaying sheer inhumanity, the kin of a deceased did not lift his bier and refused to observe his last rites in Kandira village under Rajnagar block here. The reason was the deceased had married a Dalit girl against the wish of his family members.
The deceased was identified as Ajay Palei (48), who was a CRCC and the headmaster of Kandira Primary School.
About 14 years back, Ajay had fallen in love with a Dalit girl, who was a teacher in the locality. Later, they had tied knot though the family members of Ajay were opposing the marriage. After the marriage, the family members of Ajay were separated from him. So, Ajay and his wife were staying in a rented house at Jali Chowk in the locality.
On Thursday Ajay had cardiac arrest and died at a Cuttack-based private hospital. His body reached on Friday night at his village. But ironically, when the Ajay’s widow wife pleaded her in-laws to join the funeral, they strictly denied. As no relative or family members came to lift the bier, the body lay on the road for nearly five hours.
Getting information from locals, the members of the Maa Sarala Help Foundation finally cremated the body.
“It purely unfortunate that while the State Government is promoting inter caste marriages in the State by giving monetary incentives, still caste related incidents are happening in regular intervals,” lamented Maa Sarala Help Foundation president Saroj Das, demanding bigger awareness on the issue.
