32-year-old Gujarat labourer struggles to prove his father died in Maha Kumbh stampede

AHMEDABAD: Three months have passed since 55-year-old Nandlal Sondagar, a daily wager from Bhavnagar, was found lifeless near Shastri Bridge in Prayagraj, following a stampede at the Mahakumbh on Jan 29.
Yet his son, Gunwant Sondagar, continues to grapple not only with grief but also with the govt system, which does not seem convinced that Nandlal died in the stampede. The UP administration has, therefore, yet not issued a death cerficate to Gunwant.
Gunwant, 32, works as an embroidery labourer in the Odhav area of the city, barely earning enough to support himself.
His father had travelled to the Mahakumbh in Prayagraj with a friend in the hope of spiritual peace. "I saw my father's body. I performed his last rites in Prayagraj. A post-mortem was conducted there. How can someone not be dead if he was already cremated and examined by doctors?" asks Gunwant, his voice filled with a mix of sorrow and frustration.
"Prayagraj police even acknowledged in their inquest that the death seemed to be due to the stampede, and my statement was even recorded at the time. Still, no death certificate has been issued and neither has the compensation process begun yet," Gunwant further says.
According to Postmortem Report No. 269/25, dated Jan 31, 2025, Nandlal's cause of death is recorded as cardiogenic shock due to myocardial infarction.
The report notes no external injuries — an observation that now stands between Gunwant and justice.
Gunwant says that the absence of visible trauma has given UP officials a reason to question the cause, despite police records stating that Nandlal's body was recovered 500 metres from the site of the stampede.
"I am still running between Ahmedabad and Prayagraj for my father's death certificate," he says. "I am not asking for anything I don't deserve. My father died in a govt-recorded tragedy," Gunwant adds.