Muhammad Younis/Hyderabad

A Muslim woman performed the last rites of a Hindu man who had no relatives to consign his mortal remains to the fire in Warangal, Telangana, on Saturday.

Yaqub Bee, who along with her husband runs a home for the elderly and orphans, Sahrudaya Orphanage,on the outskirts of Warangal city,performed the last rites of Anumandla Veeraswamy, who along with his wife Sobha had been living with them for three years.

Veraswamy and Sobha were casual labourers and due to old age, had fallen on bad days. Both of them lived under a tree and had no resources to even buy their food when newspapers reported their plight and Yakub Bee brought them to her orphanage three years ago.

On Friday,  Veeraswamy suffered a massive heartattack in the orphanage and died, leaving his old and emaciated wife alone.

Yaqub B, a Muslim, came forward to give a decent send-off, to the mortal remains of Verraswamy as per his.

Yaqub Bee performed all the prayers and rituals associated with the last rites as per the Hindu religion. She took part in the prayers for the departed; lifted the picture and circumambulated around his funeral pyre and broke it to symbolise the transition of the soul from the body into eternity.

Yakub Bee lit his funeral pyre, as would have been done by his child if he had one.

Yaqub Bee had earlier performed the last rites of another Hindu man who had died of illness a few years ago. His family members had refused to perform his last rites.

Yakub Bee was a seamstress and her husband Mahboob Ali did odd jobs to make both ends meet. Once Maqbool visited Amritsar and met a rickshaw puller who had set up an orphanage.

Inspired by the founder of the Khalsa orphanage of Amritsar, Maqbool along with his wife launched Sahodrya in 2007. Yakub has earlier also performed the last rights of a few Hindus.