Odisha triple train tragedy: 28 unclaimed bodies kept in AIIMS to be cremated

After four months to the triple train tragedy that claimed 297 lives in Odisha’s Balasore district on June 2, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) have decided to dispose off 28 unclaimed bodies kept in AIIMS Bhubaneswar, an official said.

As per the official, the civic body issued a standard operating procedure for scientifically disposing off the remains of the 28 people whose rightful claimants were not found.

“We have issued an SOP for the scientific disposal of the unclaimed bodies of those who were killed in the triple train accident. The bodies will be handed over to the corporation in the presence of CBI officials and we are planning for the cremation on Tuesday,” BMC Mayor Sulochana Das told reporters.

The bodies will be decomposed at cremation grounds at Satyanagar and Bharatpur in Bhubaneswar. For the smooth transportation of the bodies from AIIMS to the cremation ground, BMC are making arrangements, an official revealed.

The BMC initiated the process after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which has been probing the train accident, wrote to the Khurda district collector, requesting him for the disposal of the bodies in a scientific manner, sources told PTI.

AIIMS Bhubaneswar director will officially hand over the bodies to the BMC health officer following the existing rules and guidelines of the state, the Centre, and the National Human Rights Commission for cremation of the bodies, he said.

According to the SOP issued by the BMC, the entire process will be video-graphed.

A total of 162 bodies were received by the AIIMS Bhubaneswar, out of which 81 of them were handed over to the family members of the deceased in the first phase.

Following DNA tests, another 53 bodies were later provided to the family members, but 28 more bodies remained unclaimed, according to official.

The bodies were kept in at least five deep freezer containers procured from the Paradip Port Trust.
On June 2, the Coromandel Express crashed into a stationary goods train, derailing most of its coaches around 7 pm near the Bahanaga Bazar station in Odisha.

The Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, Bengaluru-Howrah Super-Fast Express and a goods train were involved in the accident.

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