Decomposed Bodies Buried in Unnao

Lucknow, Jan 16 (IANS) There was no activity Friday at the spot in Unnao where 104 bodies were found floating in the Ganga river a few days back, officials said here.

All the bodies, many of them highly decomposed, were buried in the sand under the supervision of local authorities. Unnao is 60 km from here.

District officials told IANS that DNA samples of most bodies were taken before they were buried in graves.

"Since most of the bodies were not in a position to be identified, they were given a quick burial," an official said while admitting that there were minor protests from locals over the manner of the last rites as the communities of the dead were not identified.

Locals continued to debate how so many bodies had suddenly come to the surface within 24 hours. They were also angry at the treatment meted out to the dead as the administration had employed JCB machines to pick up and dump the bodies.

Arun Kumar Dixit, a local resident, told IANS that while on an average 10-12 bodies were brought to the Periyaar Ghat, south-west of Unnao and an equal number to Shuklaganj in Unnao and a higher number to Jajmau in Kanpur daily, he found it unbelievable that 100-plus bodies could surface in one single day.

The locals are also irked at the political row that has broken out over the bodies.

Uttar Pradesh Urban Development Minister Mohd Azam Khan has alleged that the bodies had been brought in a truck by local BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj and dumped into the river to malign the state government.

The BJP has hit back at the minister accusing him of having gone berserk after the party lost in last year's general election. District officials said that they had requested the local residents to ensure that bodies are not dumped into the river for want of funds.