Kathmandu, Jan. 27 -- The family of a Nepali mercenary who died while fighting for the Russian side in the ongoing war in Ukraine has performed cremation rituals using a representational body made of "Kush," a sacred grass in Hindu rituals, at the Pashupati Aryaghat.

The deceased, identified as 37-year-old Binod Bahadur Sunuwar, had resigned from the Nepal Army a few years ago. His family conducted the cremation using the sacred grass in the absence of his body, which could not be retrieved.

"My son (Binod Bahadur Sunuwar) went to Russia and died there, we had expected he will be returning back to Nepal, it had been one year he went to Russia in last October (2024). I had the confidence that he will certainly return but now, even the bo...