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PHAGWARA: A Canada-based NRI died at a private hospital here following which two women, identifying as his wives, claimed the possession of his body, police said on Saturday.
78-year-old Pakhar Singh, who was currently living in Punjab's Gobindpura mohalla, died at a private hospital here yesterday, police said.
A Canada-based woman, Mohinder Kaur, claimed to be his wife and demanded that she should be handed over the husband's body as she wanted to take it back to Canada for cremation there, police said.
She said that they were married in 1974 after he got a divorce from his first wife and together have three children. Her husband was not keeping well and had died of an illness, Mohinder claimed.
Meanwhile, another woman, Bakhshish Kaur, residing in Chabbewal village of Hoshiarpur district, said that the body must be handed over to her as she was married to Singh in 1972, police said.
She had been living with their daughter and denied having any divorce, asserting that a court case was pending in this connection, Bakhshish said.
The woman also alleged that she suspects a foul play behind Pakhar Singh's death and demanded a probe into it.
Police intervened in the matter and took the body in its possession.
A three-member Board of doctors was constituted for conducting post-mortem in the local civil hospital, police said.
Police said that the body would remain in hospital's mortuary till the matter of its possession was resolved.
Local SDM Keshav Hingonia has called the two sides to his office on Monday for settling the dispute, police said.