A day after scores of dead bodies found floating in the Ganga in Safipur area of Unnao district in Uttar Pradesh created a flutter, a team of forensic experts on Wednesday collected DNA samples from 80 bodies. A team of 10 doctors from Unnao were requisitioned by the district administration for the job. The samples have been collected for assessing the cause of death and establishing the gender of the dead.
About 100 bodies were found floating near Pariyar Ghat in Unnao. Reports said that the Ganga here, after taking a bend in its course, follows a shallow path, which is why the bodies surfaced. The Unnao District Magistrate has been asked to submit a detailed report to the Home Department. IG (Law and Order) A. Satish Ganesh said since some of the bodies were in an advanced stage of decomposition it was not possible to collect their DNA extract. “The doctors expressed their inability to conduct any examination given the putrid state of the bodies,” Mr. Ganesh told reporters. The IG said prima facie the deaths appear to have been caused by natural causes. “The process of collecting DNA samples is being videographed,” he said.
Mr. Ganesh said a consensus to bury the bodies was agreed upon by public representatives, gram pradhans of the villages near the Pariyar Ghat, villagers and officials. The burial ritual would be conducted after mass prayers, called “shanti path”, as a mark of respect to the deceased, the IG (Law and Order) said. He added the DIG, Lucknow Range, R.K. Chaturvedi camped at the site overnight to oversee the meeting.
To identify the bodies, the gram pradhans have been asked by the Unnao district administration to submit information of those who died in their villages in the last six months. This would enable the authorities to trace their families.
