Heart-Wrenching Tale of Love and Despair: Man unable to afford last rites for deceased wife

K K Jha
Indore: In a poignant story of love and despair, a poor man in Chandan Nagar, Indore, faced an unimaginable tragedy when his beloved wife succumbed to an illness amid the severe heat. Stricken by grief and unable to afford the last rites, he kept her body at home for three agonizing days, hoping for a miracle that never came.
Driven by desperation and a deep sense of shame, he finally wrapped her body in a cloth, placed it in a sack, and left it in a nearby area. His sorrowful act underscores the harsh reality of poverty, where even the dignity of a loved one’s final farewell can be a luxury beyond reach.
This is not a script from a Bollywood film but a real-life tragedy experienced by 55-year-old Madan Nargave. The heartbreaking reality came to light when city police began investigating the case of an abandoned decomposed body of an old woman wrapped in a cloth and found in a sack on Sunday morning.
The deceased was identified as 57-year-old Asha Nargave, a native of Barwani district, who had been living on rent in Rajkumar Nagar, Bank Village, Dhar Road. Her husband, Madan, told the police about his ordeal, explaining that his wife had died due to an illness and the excessive heat on the night between Wednesday and Thursday. Overwhelmed with shame and fearing societal judgment over his inability to afford her final rites, he kept the body at home for three days.
As the stench from the decomposing body became noticeable, neighbors began to talk about the foul smell, forcing Madan to take action. Wrapping the body in a saree and placing it in a sack, he carried it on his shoulder and disposed of it approximately 200 meters from his house. Filled with remorse, he then sat in a garden at Raj Mohalla, consumed by guilt over what he had done.
When the body was discovered outside a house, panic gripped the Ahmed Nagar area within the Chandan Nagar police circle. Police quickly arrived at the scene and uncovered the body. ACP Nandani Sharma reported that a forensic team and sniffer dog were called in to gather evidence and thoroughly investigate the case. Initially, with no external injury marks on the body, there was suspicion of murder. However, within six hours, the police revealed that the woman had died from an illness and her body was disposed of by her husband.
To determine the exact cause of death, the police sent the body for an autopsy examination. This tragic incident highlights the severe impact of poverty and the lengths to which it can push people in their moments of despair.