Mumbai: Soulful duty! He’s laid to rest over 50,000 in 20 years

MUMBAI: Tiptoeing into his Chembur home well past midnight, his uniform drenched in perspiration, constable Dnyandeo Ware sinks into a chair.
He has had a rough day, having laid to rest over a dozen unidentified people who died of various causes in a span of 24 hours. Ware has worked on the Police department’s hearse for two decades and has witnessed every major tragedy during this time that cost Mumbaikars their lives.But nothing has been as relentless as the Covid-19 pandemic.
His family is understandably worried about his going to work during the second wave, given his co-morbidities. But Ware, who has cremated 50000 unidentified individuals in his career so far, says it’s his life’s mission to give dignity to those who don’t have their kin around to perform last rites.
“Mee punya kamavto aahe (I’m earning virtues),” he says, explaining why he won’t stop working, even though about 50 bodies that the hearse ferried since last year tested positive for Covid. Ware adds that he finds the job more satisfying than routine police station duties.
The Police department used to have 12 hearses, one for each police zone. Gradually, the number of vehicles shrunk and only three are operational now. Ware drives the hearse that covers some of the busiest public hospitals such as Sion, JJ, Nair, GT, St George and the Tuberculosis Hospital at Sewri.
When an unidentified individual is found dead in south or central Mumbai, the police station staff summon Ware. He steers the hearse to the location accompanied by two workers appointed for carrying bodies. After being ferried to a hospital, a policeman conducts a panchnama on the deceased and the body is moved to a morgue. If the relatives of the deceased cannot be located within 15 days, then Ware is summoned again. This time, he ferries the body to the crematorium.
“If the deceased individual’s faith is known, then his last rites are carried out in accordance to his customs,” said Ware who performs all duties a family member would have, including lighting the pyre and praying for the soul of the departed.
Typically, constables posted as a hearse drivers are transferred after five years of service. But Ware, who joined the police department in 1995, has been on hearse driving duty since 2001 and is keen to continue till he retires.
“The job is challenging.... I have to check paperwork and ensure that bodies don’t get swapped at the hospital,” he said. He was recently felicitated by joint police commissioner (law and order) Vishwas Nangre Patil.
What do his folks at home think of his job? His wife, who ensures he carries a tiffin of her home cooked meals every day, says she is "very proud" of him.