(Image source from: hindustantimes.com)

On 10th June, a well-known midfielder from Ganjam district of Odisha, passed away at a hospital in Silchar area of Assam. He played for the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and was only 34 years.

Strangely, the Indian footballer’s family was in a state of shock and both his wives who didn’t know about each other got into a dispute asking for the man’s dead body. The first family was allowed to see his funeral over a video call.

After serving in Mumbai for a decade, Aula was sent to Silchar and he worked as a supervisor in ONGC since 2009. He represented Odisha three times in 2006, 2007 and 2008 in the Santosh Trophy before he started playing for the ONGC at the reputed I-league.

Naresh even played for a State Football Team in Maharashtra. A ONGC spokesperson said he would look into this case.

He had spoken to his family in the Bhanjanagar area of Ganjam district and expressed how much he wanted to return back home.

He told his brother Bishnu Aula that he had advised the footballer to put off the visit as he would be in quarantine for 14 days after getting back due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The next morning, his wife Arathi, parents and other siblings in Bhanjanagar were told that he lost his life in a hospital at Silchar.

Bishnu said “When we spoke to the ONGC officials asking them to send my brother’s body to our home, we were told that a woman from Mizoram, named Lal MuanKui, is a claimant for the body as her name was listed as my brother’s wife in the official records. We were shocked as my brother was already married (since 2012) and has a four-year-old daughter”

On that day, the family waited for his body till evening. The family contacted the office of the union ministry of petroleum and natural gas, the parent ministry of the ONGC.

“We were told that a decision will be taken. We sent the video clip of my brother’s marriage as well as the photo of her daughter on WhatsApp seeking the ministry’s intervention. However, on June 11 night we were told that the body has been sent to Mizoram as in the ONGC records his legally wedded wife’s name was not there,” he said.

His father Alabandru Aula said that the family was allowed a small concession and they were allowed to see Naresh’s burial ceremony over video calling. “We were too shocked to react” he said.

To know more about the case, the family said they would meet petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan. His brother mentioned that the family had a doubt that he was married to another woman four years ago when a few footballers informed them about it.

Further, the brother said “However, he kept dodging our queries. Our suspicion increased when he stopped coming to Odisha one and half years ago citing work pressure.”

By Neha Makhija