By IANS,
Thrissur : The relatives of Malayali nurse Mini Francis, who died in Britain in March, Wednesday raised doubts about the cause of her death after her husband cremated her there, despite a court order to bring her body back to India.
Her family in Kerala said they were shattered because cremation was against Christian rites.
M.P. Jose, Mini’s brother, told IANS: “We got the sad news that this (cremation) happened at 3 p.m. yesterday (Tuesday) after our relatives there found out about it late last evening. This is cruel and we now have a feeling that there is some foul play in her death itself. We had got a court order yesterday that the body should be brought here.”
Mini, 28, left for Britain after giving birth to a baby boy early this year to resume her work as a nurse in a hospital in Salisbury. However, on March 23, her husband Angelo Francis informed her family that she had died of septicaemia following an infection.
The Kerala High Court Tuesday had directed the Indian High Commission in Britain to ensure that all arrangements are made to bring back Mini’s body.
Mini’s mother Lily Francis approached the High Court after the family came to know that Angelo planned to cremate her body in Britain.
“The case is again posted next week and we are not going to let this go. We now have real doubts about the manner in which she died. Only a detailed investigation will reveal the truth. Why was he (Angelo) so adamant that the body should be cremated?” said Jose.
The local parish was also last week involved in talks between the two families and an agreement was reached that Mini’s family would withdraw the case if her body is brought back and buried according to Christian rites.