After four months of the tragic Bahanaga train tragedy in Balasore, the process of cremation of 28 unclaimed bodies started on Tuesday. All the 28 unclaimed bodies of the victims were preserved at AIIMS, Bhubaneswar.
Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has started the process of cremation of these bodies at Bhartpur cremation ground.
“We have deployed three dead body carrier vehicles. We have now started taking over those bodies for cremation. We have the capacity to finish the cremation task within the next one or two days, ” said BMC commissioner, Vijay Amruta Kulange.
After the train tragedy on June 2, 2023, 162 bodies were shifted to AIIMS in a phased manner for preservation. After verification, 81 bodies were handed over to the bereaved families.
During the verification of bodies, there was a lot of confusion about the identification of the bodies.
In other cases, the authorities resorted to DNA tests to identify the bodies and later 53 more bodies were identified.
The AIIMS authorities said all the processes for the handing over of bodies have been completed. BMC began the cremation of some of the bodies at the designated crematorium at Bharatpur in the city on Tuesday.
The DNA samples of the 28 bodies being handed over for cremation have been stored for matching in the future.
The CBI which has been probing into the tragic train mishap is the custodian of the bodies kept at the AIIMS. The central agency had earlier written a letter to the Khordha district Collector requesting the disposal of the unidentified bodies.