Retired IAF officer stages his own funeral to open new cremation ground in Bihar

New Delhi: A retired Warrant Officer of the Indian Air Force in Bihar staged his own funeral to inaugurate a cremation ground, The Indian Express reported.

Mohan Lal, wrapping himself up in white shroud, staged the act in Gaya’s Konchi village.

A procession was taken out with customary rituals as people chanted ‘Ram Naam Satya Hai’ believing that Lal was dead.

His final arthi to the cremation ground had a large number of villagers in attendance to pay their respects.

When the procession reached the site, Lal sat up, spilling the beans that the funeral was fake, leaving people stunned.

Mohan Lal was quoted as saying that ‘I wanted to see who truly cared for me’.

Lal burned his own arthi at the cremation ground to symbolically complete the ritual playing a melancholic tune in the background.

Lal took it upon himself to build a proper cremation facility after seeing villagers struggle to cremate their dead during monsoon seasons.

However people were not prepared for his stunt to inaugurate the site.

‘Even after retirement, I wanted to serve my village and society,’ Lal told NDTV, adding that his heart was filled with happiness seeing the villagers attending his funeral.

People later immerse ashes from the pyre in the nearby river as per tradition. Afterwards, Lal hosted a community feast in proper funeral style.