Cremation of manual scavenger’s kin stalled

BHUBANESWAR : The body of a 75-year-old widow in Odisha could not be cremated for two days as villagers had ostracised the family because her son was doing manual scavenging despite being a Kshatriya, an upper caste.

The villagers relented on Friday evening and allowed the cremation only after the family paid ₹1,000 for Mahaprasad from Puri’s famous Jagannath temple to purge the so-called sin.

The incident took place at Nuaguda village in Malkangiri district.

The villagers refused to carry the body of Kamala Chital to the cremation ground as they had socially boycotted the family seven years ago.

The villagers were angry with family as Kamala’s son Laxman used to clean drains and cremate bodies for a living, which they considered demeaning for a Kshatriya.

Though Laxman died a few years ago, the ostracism continued.

After Kamala died, her daughter-in-law and grandson Rabindra Chital pleaded with the villagers to help them carry the body to cremation ground.

Local ward member Subhransu Parichha said he tried mediating with the villagers who insisted on payment of ₹1,000 as cost of Mahaprasad and another ₹3,000 for reinducting the Chitals into their clan.

Malkangiri district collector K Sudarshan Chakraborty said he has asked the BDO to inquire into the incident and submit a report on the incident.