'Pind daan' for Nirbhaya, Sarabjit Singh, Chhapra victims

Moved by their tragic end, a social worker has decided to perform 'pind daan' (salvation ritual) here for Delhi gangrape victim Nirbhaya, Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh and 23 children who died after eating poisoned midday meal in a Chhapra school.
Social worker Suresh Narayan Singh said he will perform the ritual on the bank of Falgu river here on September 28 during ongoing Pitrapaksha mela for the salvation of their souls.
"I will do the pind daan as a son of these departed souls as I am really moved by their tragic deaths," Singh, who lives near Vishnupad temple here, said.

The ritual will be performed at Deo ghat on the bank of Falgu river under supervision of his guru Swami Raghavcharya, the 71-year-old social worker said.
Delhi gangrape victim Nirbhaya died on December 29 last year, while Sarabjit Singh was killed in a Pakistani jail on May 2. The midday meal tragedy occurred in July.
The fortnight-long Pitrapaksha mela began here on Wednesday. More than one lakh devotees have so far performed 'pind daan' of their near and dear ones.

The ritual, according to Hindu belief, paves the way for the soul's final transition to salvation.
Singh said he has been performing 'pind daan' for people in cases of untimely death in natural calamity or after some tragic incident.

"I perform pind daan of any person without considering their religion or caste," Singh said.
He said he was inspired to take on the task of performing pind daan of nameless persons after the devastating earthquake in Gujarat in 2001 in which many people lost their lives.
Singh said in the past, he has done 'pind daan' for former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and shehnai maestro Bismillah Khan.