A family in Guna, Madhya Pradesh, was forced to conduct a deceased woman’s pre-funeral rituals in the open after her landlord allegedly refused to allow her mortal remains into their rented home, citing an ongoing Navratri event, according to a Times of India report.
Pooja Rajak, 31, died while undergoing cancer treatment at the district hospital. Her father, Pahalwan Rajak, said the family had lived in a rented house in the Ghosipura neighbourhood for four years and had hoped to bring her body home before the cremation.
According to her father, the landlord stopped the family from taking the mortal remains inside the house and said a Navratri event was under way. The family then carried out Pooja’s final adornment and other pre-funeral rituals in the open near the district hospital mortuary.
After the rituals were completed, the family took the body to the cremation ground. The account was reported by Times News Network and is based primarily on statements from Pahalwan Rajak and people who assisted the family. The report does not include a response from the landlord or details of any complaint filed with the police, municipal authorities or other officials.
The incident unfolded as the family was also facing financial pressure after spending money on Pooja’s treatment. Social worker Pramod Bhargava and cow protection volunteer Ram Singh Rajak stepped forward to help the family during the final rites, the report said.
Pooja was originally from Badarwas in Shivpuri district and was married to Rakesh Lashkari of Indore. She is survived by two daughters and a son. Her father alleged that her husband had married a second time and that her in-laws had stopped caring for her as her health deteriorated. He later said that Pooja’s husband and his second wife came to Guna after learning of her death, and that the husband attended the final rituals held at the hospital premises.
The report does not establish whether the landlord’s refusal violated a specific legal provision or whether the family sought intervention from local authorities. It does, however, highlight the dependence of many households on rented homes for basic security and the absence of a private space at a moment of death when access to that home is disputed.
No official statement from the Guna district administration, the district hospital or the landlord was included in the report. The available account ends with the family’s completion of the final rituals and cremation.
