Daughters Break Stereotype, Cremate Father In Odisha’s Malkangiri

Malkangiri: Breaking social stereotypes, three girls performed the last rites of their father in Odisha’s Malkangiri district on Friday.

The deceased has been identified as Sukanta Kumar Pattnaik, who resided in Malkangiri Sadar.

Sources said Pattnaik was admitted to the Malkangiri district headquarters hospital with a cardiovascular ailment. He was later shifted to SLN Medical College and Hospital when his condition deteriorated. He, however, died on Thursday after a heart attack.

Tough his relatives and neighbours flocked to Pattnaik’s house to pay their last respects, no one came to perform his last rites.

As Sukanta did not have a son, his three daughters—Sasmita, Smita and Sangeeta—carried his body to the cremation ground and performed the last rites.

Being the first such incident in the district, it has now become a talking point across Malkangiri.