Drunk man falls into funeral pyre, burnt to death

Trichy: A 75-year-old drunk man, allegedly slipped and fell into the funeral pyre of his relative, and was burned to death in Ariyalur district on Thursday. On Friday, unaware of the incident, his relatives poured kerosene on the half-burnt body to make sure it was completely cremated, only to discover later that two people had been burned together on the same pyre.The bizarre incident occurred in Kumuliyam village, near Sendurai. Reports said a man named Ramadass, aged 55, died on Thursday morning due to ill-health. His body was taken for cremation that night at the village cremation ground. Thangarasu, 75, was present at the cremation along with his relatives, including three others who were helping with the process.On Friday morning, one of Ramadass's relatives went near the cremation spot to attend nature's call when he was shocked to find that the body was partially uncremated. Believing the fire had gone out due to rain the previous night, he immediately informed others. Following this, one Sakthivel along with his relatives Arivazhagan and Punniyamoorthi quickly poured kerosene and ensured the body was fully cremated.It was only after the cremation was over did they realize that Sakthivel's father, Thangarasu, was missing. Suspecting something had amiss, they waited until the pyre had fully burned out, and then sifted through the ashes. They were horrified to discover two skulls along with additional bones in the remains.Thangarasu belonged to a family of vettiyaans (traditional cremators). "We suspect he was heavily intoxicated during the cremation, lost his balance, and fell into the burning pyre, resulting in his death. Since both Thangarasu and Ramadass were lean-built, the other relatives might have mistaken the combined remains for those of a single person," a police official said.Irumbulikurichi police rushed to the spot and carried out an investigation. They have registered a case under Section 194 of BNSS for unnatural death and are conducting a detailed probe into the matter.