Recovery of bodies from canals

May 26,2009

Recovery of bodies from canals
Most corpses have floated into this district: SSP
SP Sharma
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, May 25
The number of unidentified bodies recovered from various canals and their tributaries here has abnormally increased during the past few days but hardly any report of missing person has been filed in the police stations in the area.

More than 24 bodies have been recovered during the past few days from different places by local NGOs. The police have disposed most of these as cases of "unnatural death" as there were no claimants of the recovered bodies.

Pre-mortal injuries on some of the bodies indicated that the canal waters have become a dumping place of victims by criminals. Being almost the tail end of the Bathinda-Sirhind and the Bhakhra main canal, completely decomposed bodies float here from other parts of the state.

The kin have so far claimed not more than six of these bodies. The NGOs have from time to time performed their last rites after retaining clues that could help in identification of these bodies.

Ashish Chaudhary, SSP, Bathinda, told this correspondent that recovery of a high number of bodies was "abnormal", but it was observed that most of the bodies had floated here from places as far as Ropar. He said as the mercury has risen, incidents of drowning had also shown an upward trend because the womenfolk and young ones do not take precautions while stepping into the canals to take bath.

The SSP ruled out foul play as "pre-mortal" injuries were found on only three bodies. However, investigations would reveal further details. Information necessary to identify the bodies recovered from the canals was regularly flashed to the central police control room and the crime branch.

He said a body recovered last month was identified as that of a person of Haryana and the culprits, who had thrown the body in a canal near Talwandi Sabo, were apprehended.

Vijay Goel, who heads the "Sahara" — an NGO engaged in providing assistance to victims of accidents and those needing medical attention, says that most of the unidentified bodies float here from Ludhiana, Barnala and Sangrur.

The Bathinda-Sirhind canal that originates from Doraha in the Ludhiana district is the main carrier of these bodies. The Bhakhra main flows through Mansa and Talwandi Sabo.

Goel claims that the police and officials of the irrigation department at times push the bodies ahead from their own jurisdiction to escape the time consuming investigations. He said only one or two bodies were in the condition of being identified and the remaining were disposed by the NGOs by performing the last rites.

He says that the heat wave during the past few days might have led to the rising number of deaths in the canal waters.