The State Government now faces a bug challenge for identification of many bodies of the passengers who died in the Baleswar train tragedy.
As the bodies are in highly-mutilated conditions, the family members of the deceased have difficulty in identifying them. While some bodies lie unclaimed, in an instance two different families claimed one body, according to official sources.
A whopping number of 123 bodies have been preserved in the mortuary of AIIMS Bhubaneswar while another 70 have been stored at the morgues of Capital Hospital, Sum Hospital, Amri Hospital, KIMS and Hi-Tech hospital in Bhubaneswar.
Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation Commissioner Vijay Amruta Kulange reportedly said, “Some of the bodies are in very bad conditions and their faces are not being identified properly. In such cases, we have to conduct DNA tests.”
A man from West Bengal said he submitted relevant documents to the authorities to claim a relative’s body, but someone else has lodged a complaint claiming the same body.
Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena informed that out of the 275 dead bodies, so far 170 have been identified and all bodies after due process were being handed over for transfer to their destinations. Arrangements for free transportation of the bodies by hearses or other body carriers are made by the Government.
State Development Commissioner Anu Garg said the State administration in coordination with officials of railway and Union Government is jointly making efforts to resolve the bodies’ identification issues. Pictures of the bodies and also a list of passengers undergoing treatment in different hospitals are being shown to the family members for this purpose.