Sulthan Bathery (Kerala), Aug 8 - Sabu's poor parents and the entire village was grieving, waiting for his coffin. When it arrived, the smell of putrefying flesh inside filled them with anger instead. How could the Indian Army send back one of its dead in such a manner, they are now asking.

Villagers in the small hill town of Ambalavayal near here in Wayanad district are upset over the 'disrespect' shown by the Indian Army to the body of 23-year-old Sabu Varghese, a gentleman cadet at the Indian Military Academy (IMA) Dehradun who was found dead in a swimming pool of the academy Monday.

Sabu's father is heart-broken over the condition in which the body was sent.

'My wife and I are casual labourers. On Monday morning I got a call from my son's officer saying that my son has suffered an accident. I immediately asked him what I should do and he said nothing needs to be done. I was soon told that my son has died,' said Varghese.

The family was then informed that the body would arrive soon.

'Our endless wait began. The body arrived late Wednesday evening and I was shell shocked to see the box in which it was kept. It was just a wooden box. There were a few army officials and they advised me not to open the box. I insisted on seeing the body of my son and opened the box. All I could see was his teeth and nothing else. No one was able to stand near due to the stench.

'Is this way the army treats its people?' asked Varghese, sobbing.

A neighbour and a political worker, 73-year-old K.R. Unnniry, told IANS: 'We were first told that the body would arrive on Tuesday, and we sent an ambulance to the Karipur airport (near Kozhikode).