Despite promising to collect his father’s body, which had been lying in the hospital morgue for four days, his younger son Rana did not come. Finally, due to the family’s lack of consent, it was decided to bury Khokon Mia (about 50) as an unclaimed person.

When the Brahmanbaria Lighthouse authorities contacted Rana on Monday afternoon (May 4), he said that he should bury his father’s body without waiting any longer. Earlier, on Sunday (May 3), he was persuaded to come at least for the last time to receive his father’s body and arrange for burial in his own area. The Brahmanbaria Lighthouse even promised to bear all the expenses, starting from the ambulance fare to the shroud and burial. But in the end, he did not come.

It is learned that Khokon Mia died while undergoing treatment at the 250-bed General Hospital in Brahmanbaria at around 10 pm last Thursday (April 30). He was undergoing treatment in the hospital’s orthopedics department. Even after his death, his wife and two sons refused to accept his body. As a result, the body remained in the hospital morgue for four days. Although the police and concerned officials contacted the family several times for humanitarian reasons, they said that they had not had any contact with Khokon Mia for 10-12 years and were also unwilling to accept the body. In this regard, the founder and chairman of Brahmanbaria Batighar, Eng. Md. Azhar Uddin, said,

We have contacted the family several times considering the humanitarian aspect. We were even assured of bearing all the expenses of taking the body and burial. But there was no positive response from the family. In the end, we were forced to decide to bury him as an unclaimed person. He also said that this is not just a family incident, it is a reflection of the human degradation of our society. A person has the right to get a respectful farewell from their loved ones at the end of their life. According to police sources, on Friday (May 1), a radio message was sent to Debidwar Police Station in Comilla at the initiative of Brahmanbaria Sadar Model Police Station. Later, the family was contacted from there, but the same kind of disinterest was expressed. Hospital sources said that on March 24, the police admitted Khokon Mia to the hospital with a serious infection (cellulitis). He died after being under treatment for 38 days. During his treatment, doctors and nurses were engaged in his service under the supervision of Brahmanbaria Lighthouse.

Khokon Mia’s home is in Lakshmipur, Noakhali, and his in-laws are in Karuin village, Mohanpur union, Debidwar upazila, Comilla. Although he is survived by his wife Nilufa Akhtar and two sons Raju and Rana, he was completely alone at the end of his life. Finally, it was decided that if no family member comes, he will be buried as an unclaimed body at the initiative of Brahmanbaria Batighar on Tuesday (May 5).

The locals see this incident as an example of extreme human degradation. Khokon Mia’s lonely death seems to have brought to the fore the cruel reality that a person at the end of his life only wants to be close to his loved ones.