Indian railways give just Rs 1,000 for disposal of unidentified victims got killed on railway tracks. Such victims are kept for 72 hours for identification and when none turns up to enquire, the GRP disposes the body.
Officer-in-charge of GRP Daltonganj thana Mukesh Kumar said, “The railways give Rs 1,000 for the disposal. It is too small a fund for disposal. The last rites of the victims cannot be any decent. We give our money for disposal.”
GRP official further said, “Our expenses on such disposal are too big. Sweeper is engaged to collect the mutilated parts of the body of the deceased from the tracks. Sweeper is paid in cash. Then the pieces of the body are wrapped in any cloth. Cloth is bought from the market. Then it is sent to the post mortem and after post mortem the body is disposed of.” He added that no cremation of the bodies are done, “as we cannot afford the price of wood meant for cremation. All such unidentified victims are buried in pit dug by labourers invariably near the river irrespective of their faith and religion.” Daltonganj GRP has its range from Japla to Barwadeeh more nearly 110 Kms in stretch and unidentified victim on the railway tracks is first brought to Daltonganj by train be it passenger or the goods train and then the formalities are performed.
