39-year-old Kulwinder Singh died due to a sudden heart attack in Sydney in May 2019. Mr Singh was survived by a wife and two-year-old child.
An online fundraiser raised over $7000 which were used for the repatriation of Mr Singh’s mortal remains to his parents in India.
Singh’s was one of 4,228 mortal remains sent back to India in 2019, until November.
2019 saw the highest number of mortal remains sent back to India from abroad, according to the figures by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.
The MEA said the number has been highest since 2015 with a total of 4,228 mortal remains brought back to India till November 2019.
Earlier 4,217 dead bodies had been sent to India from abroad in 2017.
According to the figures by the government of India, between 2015 and November 2019, a total of 20,867 human remains of expatriates were repatriated from different parts of the world to India.
Documents required to repatriate a body to India
According to the Ministry of External Affairs (India), registration of death at the Indian Mission/Post is necessary to bring back the mortal remains of an Indian national.
The following documents are required for repatriation purpose:
- Medical report/death certificate issued from a hospital
- Copy of detailed police report (with English translation, if the report is in some other language), in case of accidental or unnatural death
- Consent letter from next of kin of the deceased for local cremation/burial/transportation of mortal remains, duly attested by a notary
- Copy of passport and visa pages
“Other documents such as clearance and arrangements for embalming of mortal remains, clearance from local immigration/customs department, etc. are required. These procedures may differ from country to country,” the ministry has stated on its website.
This might interest you:
Do you need to renew your OCI card?
'Repatriation is an expensive affair'
Brisbane-based Manjit Boparai who has facilitated the repatriation of at least 52 bodies from various parts of Australia to India, says it is an expensive affair.
“It can take anywhere between $10,000 to $18,000 depending on the circumstances. And in most cases, people find it difficult to arrange the funds at short notice,” Mr Boparai told SBS Punjabi.
