Inchara Udupi
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi

Udupi, Dec 15: The last rites of Jacintha Saldanha, the Mangalore-born nurse in London who allegedly committed suicide last week, will be held at Shirva here on Monday December 17.

The mortal remains will reach Mumbai from London on Saturday December 15, and then to Mangalore on Sunday December 16 evening.

On Monday, a public homage will be held at 3 pm at Our Lady of Health Church, Shirva, and at 4 pm the last rites will be performed.

Jacintha's husband Benedict Barboza and children Junal and Lisha are accompanying the body.

Preparations are on at Shirva Church in full swing ahead of the arrival of the body and the funeral. Jacintha's family too is preparing to receive the mortal remains. A bevy of mediapersons from around the world is expect to descend on Shirva on the day of the funeral.

"The coffin will be kept in Mangalore for the night at a mortuary or a place the family will decide. The place could also be the residence of Jacintha's mother, who lives in a suburb of Mangalore with her son and another daughter," said Udupi superintendent of police Dr Boralingaiah.

Security arrangements are being made in Mangalore and at Shirva to maintain law and order and ensure no untoward incident takes place.

"We estimate about 5,000 people to attend Jacintha's funeral at Shirva, including VIPs and local officials. The coffin will first be taken to the local church for mass and then to the Catholic cemetery for burial," said Boralingaiah, quoting the family.

Mangalore diocese vicar general Fr Dennis Prabhu and Mangalore Bishop Dr Aloysius Paul D'Souza will hold a prayer service at Rosaio Cathedral on Sunday evening where both the families, their relatives and friends will be present.

Jacintha who was working as nurse at King Edward VII hospital in London was found dead two days after she fell prey to a prank call by Australian radio presenters Mel Greig and Michael Christian who pretended to be the Queen and Prince Charles, and elicitated private information about the health condition of pregnant Kate Middleton who was admitted in the hospital. Jacintha transferred the call to another nurse who gave the information to the presenters.

Autopsy reports confirmed that Jacintha committed suicide by hanging at her staff quarters. She left behind three suicide notes, in which she criticized the hospital's treatment of her over the prank call, and disclosed how she was struggling to cope with the prank call in another note. In the third note, she gave instructions on her funeral arrangements.