Bodies found buried near Ganga in Unnao
Mukesh Ranjan
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, May 13
The Uttar Pradesh authorities continue to retrieve unclaimed decomposed bodies of suspected Covid victims in the state with corpses today found buried in the sand on the banks of the Ganga in UP’s Unnao district.
Over the last three days, decomposed and bloated bodies have been found washed ashore in two other districts of the state — Ghazipur and Ballia.
The first such incident was reported four days ago from the bordering Buxar district in Bihar, where the district administration retrieved 71 bodies from the Ganga.
NHRC issues notice
The NHRC has issued notices to the Union Jal Shakti Ministry, UP and Bihar after receiving complaints about bodies found floating in the Ganga in the two states.
After locals informed the administration about the bodies buried on the Baksar ghat along the Ganga in the Bighapur Patan tehsil area, Unnao District Magistrate Ravindra Kumar rushed officials to the spot and ordered a probe.
“The district administration swung into action after locals spotted bodies buried on the Baksar ghat with some photographs of the bodies going viral on social media,” a senior official said.
The Unnao DM is reported to have said, “After the matter came to light, a sub-divisional magistrate was sent to the spot for a probe. He will submit his report.” He went on to add that the Baksar ghat “touches the border of many districts and people go there to cremate bodies”.
“We will take appropriate action,” Kumar said. A team of the local police conducted a search operation in the area and found several bodies, sources in the district administration said, but refused to give the count. Authorities in the districts concerned believe that the relatives of the victims who succumbed to the virus might not have had the money or might not have found space for the last rites.
