Mangalore: The body of Indian-origin nurse Jacintha Saldanha, who was found hanging at her apartment in London on December 7, has reached Mangalore - near her hometown Shirva in coastal Karnataka. Family sources said the nurse would be buried at her hometown on Monday. "The coffin carrying Jacintha's body will be taken to Shirva on Monday for last rites and funeral at the local cemetery around 4 pm," Udupi Superintendent of Police M Boralingaiah said, citing family sources.
Jacintha's husband Benedict Barboza and her son Junal,16, and daughter Lisha,14, have accompanied the coffin from London. "The coffin will be kept in Mangalore for the night at a mortuary or a place the family will decide. The place could also be the residence of Jacintha's mother, who lives in a suburb of Mangalore with her son and another daughter," Boralingaiah said.
Security arrangements have been made in Mangalore and at Shirva to maintain law and order and ensure no untoward incident takes place. "We estimate about 5,000 people to attend Jacintha's funeral at Shirva, including VIPs and local officials. The coffin will first be taken to the local church for mass and then to the Catholic cemetery for burial," Boralingaiah said, quoting the family.
Mangalore diocese Vicar General Dennis Prabhu and Mangalore Archbishop Aloysius Paul D'Souza will hold a prayer service in the local cathedral on Sunday evening where both the families, their relatives and friends will be present. Saldanha, who graduated from Father Muller College of Nursing
04:50 PM, Dec 16, 2012
