Bhubaneswar: Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif on Tuesday tweeted about Abhimanyu Das, a bookbinder of Odisha’s Cuttack city who helps cremate ‘unattended’ bodies and selflessly takes care of poor cancer patients.
Abhimanyu Das is a book binder from Odisha who lost his mother & other loved ones in the battle with cancer. He decided to serve humanity & selflessly take care of poor cancer patients, cremate unattended bodies & help in their last rites. Service to mankind is service to god ?? pic.twitter.com/mYQKa4Z53H
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) July 21, 2020
The 49-year-old Good Samaritan is on a mission to give dignity to the dead. He has served over 7000 patients and cremated 1300 bodies, according to a report published in The Better India.
Das had lost his father, mother, uncle and brother-in-law to cancer. “In 2009 when my brother-in-law was being treated, I was attending him regularly. I saw several patients in the hospital who had no one to turn around for help. That moment I decided to help out cancer patients,” he was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times in one of its reports.
During the day, he cremates unclaimed bodies and helps poor patients with money for medicines and treatment. He also cleans up their bedsores, faecal matters and even gives them a bath while they undergo treatment at Acharya Harihar Post Graduate Institute of Cancer in Cuttack.
After that, he returns home and engages in the book-binding work till late evening.
Das has been conferred with the Odisha Citizen award and his efforts have also been acknowledged by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
