Deoria (UP), June 18: The last rites of Shivanand Chaurasia, who was among the three Indian seafarers killed in a US military attack on a commercial vessel near the Oman coast, were held on Thursday in his village here in Uttar Pradesh.
The body was taken in a procession under tight security to a ghat where Chaurasia was cremated in the presence of family.
The body of Chaurasia, who was working as an engine fitter on a tanker operated by a foreign shipping company, arrived at the Delhi airport from Muscat early Wednesday morning. It was later flown to the Gorakhpur airport and brought to his native Surauli village by road on Wednesday evening.
As the body reached the village, the atmosphere turned sombre, with Chaurasia’s parents, wife and brother breaking down. Several police teams and administrative officials were deployed in the village and they tried to pacify the family members.
The family demanded an ex gratia of Rs 1 crore each from the Centre and the state government, a government job for a dependent and “martyr status” for him. They refused to perform the last rites and did not allow the body to be taken out of the ambulance for nearly three hours.
District Magistrate Madhusudan Hulgi received the family’s memorandum and assured them of necessary action, officials said.
Around 9.30 pm, the family agreed to allow the body to be taken for a second post-mortem.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi spoke to the sailor’s brother, Ram Pravesh Chaurasia, on Wednesday and assured all possible help to the grieving family. He said that the Congress party stood firmly with the family, assuring them that efforts would be made to help them get justice.
In a phone call with the sailor’s brother, the Congress leader paid tributes to Chaurasia, saying the country would always remember his sacrifice.
On Thursday morning, Chaurasia’s body was taken to the district hospital for post-mortem examination before being brought back to his residence in Surauli village. Family members and local residents gathered in large numbers to pay their last respects.
Following the post-mortem, the body was taken in a procession under tight security to Katailwa Ghat in Barhaj where last rites were performed in the presence of family members and a crowd of locals.
Chaurasia and two other Indian sailors were killed on June 10 when the US struck a Palau-flagged tanker, Settebello, off the coast of Oman.
There were 24 Indian crew members on board the tanker. While 21 crew members were rescued, three, including Chaurasia, went missing. Their bodies were recovered on June 11. (PTI)
