Thrissur: The body of the 27-year-old woman from Kerala, who was among the fifty killed in a terror attack on two Christchurch mosques in New Zealand, was brought home and laid to rest on Monday.
Prayers were held Cheraman Juma mosque at Kodungallur, the oldest mosque in the Indian subcontinent, before the last rites were held at 11 am.
Ancia Alibava was pursuing her M. Tech degree in an agricultural university in New Zealand. She had gone to the mosque to offer prayers along with her husband Abdul Nazar when the shoot-out took place. Her husband had a miraculous escape.
A pall of gloom had descended on the young woman's home town these past days with her family waiting anxiously for her remains to be brought back for the final journey. The chief minister office had on Sunday announced that all efforts were being made to bring her body back. Officials were in constant touch with the Indian High Commissioner in New Zealand.
According to media reports, the family has also rejected the request of the New Zealand government to perform the last rites in that country.
Hundreds of people from various walks of life, including state education minister C Ravindranath, Thrissur district collector, T V Anupama were among those who paid homage to the woman.
