The last known urn containing the ashes of Mahatma Gandhi was immersed in the Arabian Sea in Mumbai on Wednesday morning on the occasion of his 60th death anniversary.
Descendants of Gandhi, Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, Governor of Maharashtra S M Krishna and Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil were present at the ceremony held in South Mumbai today morning.
The Mumbai Police gave a ceremonial guard of honour, prior to the immersion of the ashes, at the historic Girgaum Chowpatty in South Mumbai.
After the immersion of ashes in rivers and oceans across the country following the assassination of the Father of the Nation in 1948, the last urn containing the ashes was kept at Mani Bhavan, where Gandhi had lived during his visits to Mumbai.
This is the second instance in 60 years when an urn containing the ashes of Mahatma was found and later immersed.
In the first instance, an urn was found in a bank locker in Bhubhaneshwar in 1997 and the ashes were immersed in Allahabad, Dhirubhai Mehta, head of the trust which maintains Mani Bhavan, said.
The urn at Mani Bhavan was donated by Bharat Narayan, a resident of Gujarat and grandson of industrialist Jamanalal Bajaj, who wanted the ashes to be preserved properly.