In a heartwarming gesture, Muslims in a village in north Kashmir district of Bandipora performed the last rites of a Kashmiri Pandit woman amid lockdown to curtail spread of COVID-19.
According to details, as soon as the news of the death of 75-year-old Rani Bhatt spread at Kalosa in Bandipora, members of Muslim community came together to help in performing his last rites.
Many people visited the home of the deceased to express condolences with the family amid lockdown.
Official sources said that the 75-year-old died at her residence at Kalosa on Wednesday night. “The elderly woman died of natural causes,” they said, adding the deceased was cremated as per Hindu rituals by her family members and Muslim neighbours on Thursday.
The family of the woman was among many Kashmiri Pandits who didn’t migrate when militancy erupted in the valley in early 90s.
This is not the first time that Kashmiri Muslims have helped perform last rites of Kashmiri Pandits and people belonging to other religions.
On May 23, the Muslim neighbourhood in south Kashmir’s Tral area helped perform the last rites of an elderly Kashmiri Pandit.
Similarly, in the second week of May, Muslims in a village in central Kashmir district of Ganderbal performed the last rites of a Punjabi Sikh amid nationwide lockdown to curtail spread of COVID-19.