A legislator from Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's party and his family performed the last rites of a destitute woman on Saturday after no one came forward to bury her for the fear of being ostracised.
Ramesh Patua from the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) was one of the pallbearers of the woman in Odisha's Jharsuguda district, 327 km capital Bhubaneswar.
The only person the woman could family is her brother-in-law. The man couldn't her funeral as he was unwell.
On Saturday, Mr Patua, his son and nephew came forward and organised a burial for the woman when locals in a village in Jharsuguda stayed away.
Mr Patua got some people to dig a patch of land in a field. Wearing a t-shirt with a towel tied around his waist, the legislator from Rengali constituency was seen lifting her body on a stretcher and ensuring that the woman got dignity in death.
(With inputs from ANI)
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