Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. A very painful and shocking incident that has shocked humanity has come to light from this city of Maharashtra, where after the death of an innocent child born in a private hospital during the holy festival of Navratri, the family refused to perform his last rites due to extreme superstition. The family argued that according to religious beliefs, the dead body is not to be touched during Sutak and during this period, due to which they completely distanced themselves from their own blood.
Wall of superstition and limits of insensitivity
According to details received, a newborn baby died during delivery at a private hospital located in the Gajanan temple complex of the city. In this tragic moment, where the family should have been sad, not a single tear was shed from their eyes. The family members gave a strange argument saying that during the Navratri days, the child and the pregnant woman are not touched at their place and if someone dies during this period, the last rites are also prohibited. Coming in the way of this evil practice and superstition, the family backed away from taking up the responsibility of the last rites and left the body of the newborn completely destitute.
Cremation ground employees set an example of humanity
When the family members completely shied away from the last rites of the innocent child, then the employees of the cremation ground named Devraj Gaikwad and Rameshwar Sable came forward and showed humanity. He himself reached the hospital and hugged the dead body of the orphaned child to his chest. The level of insensitivity was such that the child’s father was not even ready to sit on the two-wheeler of the employees to reach the cremation ground and he followed him in a separate rickshaw.
Last farewell by digging a hole himself
The entire journey from the hospital to the crematorium and all the formalities for the final farewell were completed by those kind-hearted employees. He dug a pit with his own hands and laid the child to rest. During this time, the child’s father stood at some distance like a spectator and later, just as a ritual, sprinkled some milk on the child and walked away from there. This incident, which came to light during the holy days of devotion and festivals like Navratri, has once again raised serious questions on the deep-rooted superstition and degradation of human sensibilities in the modern society.
