The wailing of Mera Bacha! Mera Bacha! (My child! my child!) broke the silence at Votualevu Cemetery yesterday as Sangeeta Kumar bid her final good bye during the cremation of her nieces, elder sister and their par­ents.

Sangeeta is the mother of ‘Mira­cle Baby’ Samaira, who was found alive beside the bodies of Sangee­ta’s sister, Nileshni Kumar, 34, her daughters Sana 11 and Samarah, eight, their 63-year-old grandfather Nirmal Kumar, a carpenter, and grandmother Usha Kumar, 54.

The bodies were discovered at Nausori Highlands last Monday morning and a cloud of mystery surrounds the cause of their deaths.

Sangeeta wailed as she tapped on the coffin, with her younger sister Geeta standing by her side and evi­dently emotional.

More than 2000 mourners from all walks of life joined family and friends of the five Legalega family members at the Votualevu College hall.

Then most followed through to witness final rites at the Votualevu Cremation grounds yesterday.

Also present was a grief stricken Salvin Singh, the husband of the late Nileshni and father of the two little girls, Sana and Samarah.

Overcome with sorrow and grief, Mr Singh had to be carried by fam­ily members because he couldn’t stand upright.

There were only two caskets pre­sent for the five members of the family.

Late Nirmal Kumar’s younger brother, Rajesh Kumar, on behalf of the family said: “We are done with the funeral now, but we are still shocked. Too soon they are gone.

“It is very sad for us and we hope no one will go through this experi­ence. It is too painful to handle.

“We request that justice be execut­ed swiftly for a sense of closure. Po­lice are still questioning suspects. Police has said they have some strong leads.”

He added that the ‘Miracle Baby’ was with the mother, and is expect­ed to return together to Australia when they were ready to travel.

A family friend, Prem Chand, asked mourners and supporters at the congregation to observe a min­ute of silence in honour of those who had passed on.

Eulogy

Pundit Rajeshwar Singh said: “We are humans, and we are certainly not an animal or bird that just do reproduce in order to increase our population number. We are differ­ent than any other living creature on this earth.

“We are here not to torment any human or shall nor take anyone’s life but what we learn from here is to continue to love your parents and your siblings.”

Condolences

Shree Sanatan Dharm Pratinidhi Sabha Fiji National president Sarju Prasad said the organisation had learned with great grief and sor­row of the sudden passing away of beloved brother Nirmal Kumar and his family members.

“Please note that you are not alone at this time of grief and sorrow,” Mr Prasad said.

“The whole nation is mourning the passing away of your family members. May God give you and your family the strength and his wisdom to understand this tragedy and may their soul rest in peace.”

The Minister for Youth and Sports, Parveen Bala said: “The whole na­tion is in shock. I feel for the fam­ily, especially for his brother who is trying to accept that he has lost five of his close family members.”

In the meantime, Police are still investigating the deaths.

Edited by Percy Kean

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