Ghaziabad (UP), March 24 Silence descended upon the residence of Harish Rana, the first person in India to be granted passive euthanasia, on Tuesday as news broke that he had passed away at AIIMS Delhi, bringing an end to his 13-year suffering.
Harish fell into a coma in 2013 after falling from a fourth-floor balcony while he was a B.Tech student at Panjab University. He was transferred to the palliative care unit at AIIMS Delhi earlier this month from his home in Ghaziabad, following a landmark Supreme Court order permitting the withdrawal of life support for him.
His father had earlier described the decision as "extremely painful but necessary."
Neighbors and well-wishers gathered at Harish's Raj Empire Society here and recalled the family's unwavering commitment to caring for him despite the emotional and financial strain.
"It's so sad," said a local resident, Tejas Chaturvedi. "The family did everything they could for him all these years."
Harish's parents, Ashok Rana and Nirmala Devi, who had spent over a decade tending to their son, often at great personal cost, including selling their house for treatment, were at AIIMS preparing for the final rites.
In the days leading up to Harish's passing, a video surfaced online, showing members of the Brahma Kumaris offering prayers at the family's home and urging him to "sleep peacefully" while seeking and granting forgiveness to all – a ritual meant to ease the soul's passage.
Sister Lovely from the Brahma Kumaris' Seva Kendra here told