Himachal: Woman's ashes go missing from crematorium locker in Solan

Shimla, Dec 25 (PTI) The plans of a family to perform the last rites of their mother were upended when the woman’s ashes, kept in a crematorium locker in Himachal Pradesh’s Solan, were found missing.

According to police, the complainant, Kamal Pal’s mother died on December 16. Her last rites were performed the same day at the Chambaghat crematorium.

The ashes collected after the cremation were kept in locker number two, the keys of which were with the family.

On Thursday morning, when Pal and his family reached the crematorium to collect the ashes, before proceeding to Haridwar, they found that the locker had been opened and the ashes were missing.

Pal, a resident of Lower Bazar in Solan, later released a video appealing to people not to misuse his mother’s ashes. The family feared that the missing ashes could be misused.

Terming the matter serious and related to religious sentiments, Pal lodged a complaint with the police and demanded that the culprit be identified and booked at the earliest.

Relatives also expressed concern over the incident and demanded adequate security arrangements and installation of CCTV cameras at the crematorium to prevent such incidents in the future.

Police said an investigation is underway and crematorium staff and other persons are being questioned. PTI BPL OZ OZ