A pet dog ‘Duggu’ also died due to the shock of his owner’s death in Betul, Madhya Pradesh. This incident, which took place on Sunday evening in the Civil Lines area of the city, made the family members and local people emotional.
According to local people, Pradeep Jain (67) died on Sunday during treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Bhopal. His mortal remains were brought to Betul on Sunday evening. A family member said that during the funeral preparations, ‘Duggu’ was not ready to move away from his master’s mortal remains. Seeing his restlessness, his family members locked him in another room for some time, but later seeing his restlessness, they took him out.
An eyewitness told that when the last journey started, ‘Duggu’ also walked with the bier for some distance. After this he suddenly became exhausted and lay down on the ground. He told that at first people thought that he had become unconscious, but upon investigation it was found that he was dead. According to family members and local people, after this the bier of ‘Duggu’ was also decorated and the last journey of both of them was taken out together.
Pradeep Jain was cremated as per Hindu rituals at Ganj Mokshadham, while ‘Duggu’ was buried with respect near the crematorium complex. Family members and local people said that ‘Duggu’ was not just a pet but a member of the family. Dilip Jain, younger brother of late Pradeep Jain, told that his elder brother had raised ‘Duggu’ since childhood and a deep bond had developed between the two over the last 15 years. He said, “Whenever brother fell ill, ‘Duggu’ also became sad and lethargic. His affection was so deep that he did not leave her side till the last moment and departed from this world along with her.