Every month since January 2009 till December 2017, an average of 268 unidentified bodies have been found in Delhi, an analysis of official government data shows.
Data from the Zonal Integrated Police Network of the Home Affairs Ministry showed that 44 unidentified bodies were found by the police in Delhi from January 1 till January 6, leading the Opposition BJP to attack the Aam Aadmi Party government over the weekend.
With 80% of these unidentified bodies being of homeless people, according to activist Sunil Kumar Aledia, the BJP has accused the government of lack of preparation in the winter. According to the data, however, the number of unidentified bodies in all of 2017 — 2,979 — was less than the previous year — 3,398. In January 2017, 207 such bodies were found.
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Reacting to allegations that the deaths were caused due to lack of shelter in the cold, the CEO of the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board, Shurvir Singh, said there was “no role of DUSIB’s inefficiency or negligence” in the incidents.
“There is no data that we have or is available anywhere that ascertains that these deaths were due to the cold...We have rolled out our winter action plan. Our shelters reached a peak occupancy of 13,810 this winter, which is about 2,000-2,500 more than last year,” he said. An AAP leader and an advisor to Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, Atishi Marlena said in a tweet, “...If the number of deaths of homeless/ unidentified persons is consistent across all 12 months, how can they be attributed to the coldwave?”
