In a rare gesture, a group of Muslim youths helped a Hindu family perform the last rites of a 52-year-old woman who died after suffering a cardiac arrest on Saturday.

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Bhavani died at Janavasati Colony in Puttur taluk’s Vidyapura. She was not married. Her brother Krishna requested his relatives and locals to help him conduct her last rites. Till Saturday afternoon, the body remained at Krishna’s house as none came forward to help him.

hen Krishna requested relatives to help him with Bhavani’s last rites, none came forward. That is when Shaukath, Hamza, Nazeer, Riyaz & Farooq started collecting funds and helped him cremate the body.

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When Shaukath, Hamza, Nazeer, Riyaz and Farooq, among others, heard about Krishna’s plight, they started collecting funds for the rites. Anganwadi teacher Rajeshwari, locals Safia and Zubaida volunteered to give the body a bath before it was shifted to the Puttur cremation ground in an ambulance. All the expenses were crowdfunded.

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“We did not do it for publicity. We came forward to help, not considering the caste or religion of the deceased. We wanted to send a message that the dead should not be denied the last rites,” said Farooq.