Mohanlalganj village in grief as migrant’s body arrives

A pall of gloom descended on Dakhina village in Mohanlalganj on Wednesday, as the body of 19-year-old Divakar arrived from Jalandhar late evening. Officials said Divakar, who was a Covid 19 suspect, died two days back in Jalandhar.

A pall of gloom descended on Dakhina village in Mohanlalganj on Wednesday, as the body of 19-year-old Divakar arrived from Jalandhar late evening. Officials said Divakar, who was a Covid 19 suspect, died two days back in Jalandhar.

Divakar was the second eldest among the siblings and worked with a private firm in Jalandhar.

“However, after confirmation that he didn’t died of coronavirus infection, the Punjab government released the body and sent it to his home village,” an official said.

Pallavi Mishra, sub divisional magaistrate (SDM) Mohanlalganj, said Divakar had ben ailing for a few days and succumbed to his illness.

Divakar’s distraught father Nankau Kumar, who is a farmer and has a family of 10 (including 8 children), thanked the district administration for facilitating the transportation of the body amid lock-down. “I had lost all hope. I never thought that I would be able to perform the last rites of my son. But the district administration came to my help,” said Kumar.

Kumar said Divakar was the second eldest among the siblings and worked with a private firm in Jalandhar. He was caught in the lock-down and couldn’t return home. “I don’t know what happened to my young son. It’s is still hard to believe that is he no more,” he added. He said the family was informed about his demise a couple of days back and asked to collect the body. But following the lock-down, the family approached the district administration for help.

“We extended complete support to Nankau, who initially wanted to go to Jalandhar to collect the body. We even processed the travelling passes for him and his family,” said Pallavi Mishra, sub divisional magaistrate (SDM) Mohanlalganj.

“But before the family could leave for Jalandhar we got the information that since Divakar did not test Covid 19 positive, the Punjab administration had dispatched the body,” she said.