E-Paper
Missing man’s kin get body & perform last rites, courtesy social activist
The body of an unidentified aged man was found near Phaphamau bypass on Monday morning. Police sent the body to the mortuary. However, all efforts for identification of the body were futile. Meanwhile, social activist Mohd Arif took photographs of the body and shared them in different WhatsApp groups and his social media page, following which the kin of the man responded and came to claim the body.
PRAYAGRAJ: The kin of a 60-year-old man who had been missing from his home in Pratapgarh for 15 years, got the chance to perform his last rites, courtesy social activist Mohd Arif who left no stone unturned in tracing and informing them.
The family came from Pratapgarh to claim the body and thanked the social activist for his efforts.
The body of an unidentified aged man was found near Phaphamau bypass on Monday morning. Police sent the body to the mortuary. However, all efforts for identification of the body were futile. Meanwhile, social activist Mohd Arif took photographs of the body and shared them in different WhatsApp groups and his social media page. He also used his contacts in different cities for the man’s identification. Arif’s efforts bore fruit when he received a call from one Punit Sharma of Pratapgarh Sadar Kotwali. Punit claimed that the body was of his father Sunil Prakash Sharma. Punit and other members of the family reached the mortuary on Thursday to claim the body. They informed that Sunil Prakash, now 60, was a farmer. In April 2007, he left home for a satsang but never returned home. The family launched a massive hunt for him but to no avail. The family had lost all hope to meet him again and assumed that he may be dead. However, Sunil’s son Punit recognised his father’s body in the photographs viral on social media.
Social activist Mohd Arif said although not united with his father in his lifetime, Punit and other kin were happy that they got the opportunity to perform his last rites.
It is worth mentioning that social activist Mohd Arif has been active in identification of unidentified dead bodies for many years. He takes help of social media, police, social workers and media persons across the state and even outside to search for lost people and identify bodies.
