A family in Guna was forced to perform pre-funeral rituals for 31-year-old Pooja Rajak near the mortuary of the district hospital after her father alleged that her landlord refused to allow her mortal remains into their rented home, citing an ongoing Navratri event.
Pooja died while undergoing treatment at the district hospital after a long battle with cancer, according to a report by the Times of India. Her father, Pahalwan Rajak, said the family had lived in a rented house in the Ghosipura neighbourhood for four years and had hoped to take her body home before the cremation.
Pahalwan alleged that when the family brought the mortal remains to the house, the landlord stopped them from taking the body inside because a Navratri event was being held there. The report does not include the landlord’s response to the allegation.
The family subsequently carried out Pooja’s final adornment and other pre-funeral rituals in the open near the hospital mortuary. They then took her mortal remains to the cremation ground, the report said.
The incident unfolded as the family was already facing financial pressure from Pooja’s treatment, according to her father. Social worker Pramod Bhargava and cow protection volunteer Ram Singh Rajak stepped forward to assist the family during the funeral arrangements.
Pooja was originally from Badarwas in Shivpuri district and had married Rakesh Lashkari of Indore. She is survived by two daughters and a son. Her father also alleged that Rakesh had married a second time and that Pooja’s in-laws had stopped caring for her as her health deteriorated.
Pahalwan later said that Rakesh and his second wife came to Guna after learning about Pooja’s death, and that Rakesh attended the final rituals held at the hospital premises. The report did not provide further details about the family’s domestic circumstances or any official action regarding the landlord’s alleged refusal.
The account highlights how families living in rented accommodation can face acute vulnerability during moments requiring privacy, space and immediate access to a home. In this case, the family’s reported inability to bring the body indoors meant that the final rituals took place beside a hospital mortuary rather than inside the house where Pooja had lived with her family.
No statement from the landlord or a government authority was included in the report. The available account is based on statements from Pooja’s father and details reported by the Times of India.
