Haryana: Old age home cremates 72-year-old man as three daughters unable to attend funeral, witness last rites on video call
By Govind Pandey, Sonipat, August 7
A 72-year-old resident of an old age home in Haryana's Sonipat was cremated by the management and local social workers after his daughters were unable to attend the funeral, with the last rites being witnessed by family members through a video call, according to the old age home authorities.
Speaking to ANI, Anand Kumar, manager of Samaj Kalyan Shiksha Samiti Old Age Home in Sonipat, said the deceased, Shiv Charan Gupta, was a cloth merchant from Mumbai. He said Gupta had shifted to Haryana with his wife after suffering business losses. According to Kumar, Gupta had three married daughters, one living in Mumbai, another in Nepal, and the third in Uttar Pradesh's Azamgarh.
Kumar said the daughters had asked their father to stay with them, but Gupta chose to live in an old age home instead. "He believed he should not live at his daughters' homes," Kumar said.
According to the old age home management, Gupta's wife, Meena Gupta, passed away around two years ago while staying at another old age home in Sonipat. Following her death, Gupta moved to the Samaj Kalyan Shiksha Samiti Old Age Home on March 13, 2026.
Kumar said Gupta led a simple routine at the home, spending time with fellow residents, playing cards, listening to devotional music and regularly speaking with his daughters over the phone.
He further said Gupta developed severe stomach pain around 15 days before his death and was taken to the district hospital for treatment before being brought back to the old age home. On August 2, he again complained of stomach discomfort, ate a light meal and went to sleep. According to Kumar, Gupta's condition deteriorated during the night, and he died at around 3:30 am on August 3.
Kumar said Gupta had expressed a wish to donate his body and eyes. After discussions with his daughters, the family consented to eye donation, following which the last rites were performed. He added that the eye donation procedure was completed with the assistance of a Delhi-based eye hospital.
According to Kumar, after being informed of Gupta's death, the daughters expressed their inability to travel to Sonipat for the funeral. He said one of the daughters transferred Rs 5,100 online towards the funeral expenses and requested that the last rites be shown through a video call. Kumar said the old age home later returned the amount to the family after the cremation.
Residents of the old age home described Gupta as a friendly and soft-spoken person who enjoyed devotional songs and often spoke about his daughters. They appealed to people to take care of their elderly parents and not leave them alone in old age.
Kumar said the incident should serve as a reminder for society to care for and support elderly parents.
— ANI
Reader Comments
In our culture, children are supposed to perform the last rites of their parents. This is a wake-up call for all of us. We work so hard for our careers but forget our responsibilities at home. Even if they couldn't attend physically, the daughters should have tried harder. Respect to the residents of the old age home for giving him a dignified farewell.
This breaks my heart. He chose to stay in an old age home because he didn't want to burden his daughters - that's the Indian parent mentality. And the daughters are probably dealing with their own challenges - one in Nepal, one in Mumbai. We shouldn't judge them so quickly. The real issue is that our society doesn't have proper support systems for the elderly. At least the organization handled it with dignity. 😔
The fact that he donated his eyes even after death - that's a truly noble gesture. May his soul rest in peace. The old age home should be commended for their compassion, not questioned. And to the daughters - sometimes life doesn't give us the chance to be there in person, but at least he knew they loved him. 🙏
This is so typical of our generation. We're always running behind money and success, and our parents end up alone in old age homes. I'm not blaming the daughters - they might have genuine reasons - but this story should make every Indian child question their priorities. We owe our parents more than just phone calls. 😢
At the end of the day, the old age home did a respectful cremation and even arranged the video call. I know some will criticize the daughters, but we don't know their situation. Could be financial issues, health problems
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