Sulthan Bathery (Kerala), Aug 8 (Inditop.com) Sabu’s poor parents and the entire village was grieving, waiting for his coffin. When it arrived, the smell of putrefying flesh inside filled them with anger instead. How could the Indian Army send back one of its dead in such a manner, they are now asking.
Villagers in the small hill town of Ambalavayal near here in Wayanad district are upset over the “disrespect” shown by the Indian Army to the body of 23-year-old Sabu Varghese, a gentleman cadet at the Indian Military Academy (IMA) Dehradun who was found dead in a swimming pool of the academy Monday.
Sabu’s father is heart-broken over the condition in which the body was sent.
“My wife and I are casual labourers. On Monday morning I got a call from my son’s officer saying that my son has suffered an accident. I immediately asked him what I should do and he said nothing needs to be done. I was soon told that my son has died,” said Varghese.
The family was then informed that the body would arrive soon.
“Our endless wait began. The body arrived late Wednesday evening and I was shell shocked to see the box in which it was kept. It was just a wooden box. There were a few army officials and they advised me not to open the box. I insisted on seeing the body of my son and opened the box. All I could see was his teeth and nothing else. No one was able to stand near due to the stench.
“Is this way the army treats its people?” asked Varghese, sobbing.
A neighbour and a political worker, 73-year-old K.R. Unnniry, told Inditop: “We were first told that the body would arrive on Tuesday, and we sent an ambulance to the Karipur airport (near Kozhikode). Later, we were told that the body would arrive only on Wednesday.”
He said when the body arrived on Wednesday “it was smelling and we were shocked because we found out that the body had not been embalmed”.
“It was a horrible sight because we found the body was wrapped in a plastic sheet with a cloth placed on top of it. When we removed the cloth, to see the face, the flesh of Sabu’s face was stuck on the cloth. This is an unpardonable act done by the army,” said Unnniry.
As the news spread, over 1,000 people gathered to share the family’s sorrow and anger.
According to locals, Sabu was a bright student and after working in the army for nearly four years as a clerk was selected to join the IMA.
“We are poor people and I was so happy when my son would tell me about the Indian Army. Our joy knew no limits when he said that soon he would be an officer. But what I got was this… The army should never treat anyone like what they did to my son,” said a weeping Varghese.
Wayanad Lok Sabha MP M.I. Shahnawaz (Congress) said that he has taken up the issue at the highest level.
“If there is any lapse on the part of the officials it will be seriously dealt with,” said Shahnawaz.
The villagers have now placed all their hopes on Defence Minister A.K. Antony, who belongs to the state. They are hoping he will take suitable action against the erring officials who did not embalm Sabu’s body.
