Swelling Ganga forced the sleuths of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to go for the second post-mortem of the Badaun cousin sisters, a day ahead of their scheduled programme on Saturday. However, several efforts of the CBI and district authorities went futile as they failed to recover the bodies on Saturday due to the overflowing Ganga. Now the CBI will again make another attempt to exhume the bodies on Sunday.
Irrigation Department officials claimed that the graves of the two sisters were submerged in the swollen Ganga River. They feared that the bodies might be washed away in the swelling tide. “The graves have been surrounded by bamboo and sand bags but still the water can have impact on the bodies,” the officials said. The CBI had sought protection of the graves on the bank of Ganga and making all arrangements for the second post-mortem.
Earlier the CBI submitted an application in the regard in which it requested the district magistrate to make arrangements for the second autopsy on Sunday. The entire exercise has been made amidst tight security and efforts were made to maintain full secrecy by restricting entry of media into Ataina ghat where autopsy has to be conducted.
Sources in the CBI confirmed that the decision to go for second postmortem on Saturday itself was taken as surging water of Ganga has already submerged threatening to wash away the graves. The postmortem is reportedly to be conducted on the spot at Ataina ghat, where the district administration has made all necessary arrangements including tent, generators and lights as the process is expected to take time.
A team of doctors from Delhi has already arrived in Badaun in the afternoon to carry out the autopsy. Unless there is a compelling reason to conduct post-mortem elsewhere, the medical board will undertake the process on the spot, CBI officials claimed.
On July 17, the medical board constituted by the CBI had recommended to go ahead with the second autopsy as it found several loopholes in the first autopsy conducted on the two victims by the local doctors in Badaun. The CBI wanted to get some doubts cleared about the rape and murder theory as floated by family members and local residents.
The two cousins, aged 14 and 15, went missing from their house on the night of May 27 and their bodies were found hanging from a tree in the village in Ushait area the following day. later, CBI was handed over the case after it sparked a nationwide outrage.