In a shocking incident from Uttar Pradesh, a man refused to accept his deceased mother’s body from an old age home, asking staff to keep it in a freezer for four days because a wedding was taking place at his house.
Shobha Devi, wife of grocery shop owner Poonal Gupta from Gorakhpur, had been suffering from ill health for a long time. A year ago, after her sons allegedly threw her out of the house, she began living in an old age home in Jaunpur. She died there on November 19.
When the old age home staff informed her younger son, he said he would check with his elder brother before responding. Later, he called back and conveyed his brother’s message: “There is a wedding at home. Bringing the body now will be unlucky. We will come after four days. Keep the body in the deep freezer till then.”
Staff then contacted the elder son directly, but he repeated the same request. Shocked by the response, the old age home authorities reached out to other relatives, who eventually persuaded the sons to collect the
body.
Even then, the elder son reportedly buried his mother without performing the last rites, citing the ongoing wedding preparations. After the wedding concluded, the body was exhumed and cremated again according to traditional rituals.
The incident has drawn widespread criticism locally, with residents condemning the sons’ behaviour and the disregard shown toward their deceased mother.
