Sunil's last rites end with his wedding to jilledu twig

Mahabubabad : It was a heart-rending send off for Boda Sunil Naik (28) amid wailings that rented air at the grief-stricken Tejavath Ramsingh Thanda.

What squeezed the hearts of those who witnessed the last rites on Saturday was the wedding of Sunil with a crown flower twig (Calotropis gigantea) before his body was lifted for the last journey.

The tradition of the tribe says that if any young man dies during his bachelorship, he will be married to a jilledu komma (crown flower twig) so that to satisfy his unfulfilled wishes, Gundenga Sarpanch Ravi Singh Rathod told The Hans India.

On the other hand, the Thanda turned into a fortress with a huge posse of police personnel to avoid any commotion during the last rites.

It may be mentioned here that scores of students and leaders owing allegiance to various political parties, except TRS, descended on the village to have one last glimpse of Sunil who battled for life for a week, after he attempted suicide by consuming pesticide marking his death would open the eyes of the State Government which was prettily sitting on nearly two lakh vacancies.

In a video released before his suicide attempt, Sunil held KCR responsible for his death.

Although Sunil's body was brought to Thanda on Friday, it remained in the ambulance with the villagers, politicos and students' unions demanding the government to make a statement about releasing job notifications and compensation to the kin of Sunil.

With the district administration announcing ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh, a double bedroom house to the family and an outsourcing job to Sunil's brother, the funeral started in the morning. The police didn't allow outsiders for the funeral by setting up pickets all around the village.

The BJP leaders in Mahabubabad were placed under house arrest as a precautionary measure.