Balasore train accident: Cremation of 28 unclaimed bodies tomorrow

The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation initiated action after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) requested the Khurda district collector for the proper disposal of the unclaimed bodies, which were kept in the AIIMS Bhubaneswar since the accident occurred in June.

Bhubaneswar : Four months after the triple train accident that claimed 297 lives in Odisha's Balasore district, the authorities of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Sunday initiated a process of disposing of the 28 unidentified bodies, an official said. The civic body issued a standard operating procedure for scientifically disposing of the remains of the 28 people whose rightful claimants were not found, he said.

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 here.

Sources said the BMC initiated the process after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which has been probing into the train accident, wrote to the Khurda district collector, requesting him for the disposal of the bodies in a scientific manner. The bodies were kept in the AIIMS Bhubaneswar since the accident occurred in June.

The BMC also decided to make arrangements for smooth transportation of the bodies from AIIMS to the cremation ground at Satyanagar and Bharatpur in the city, an official said. 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.

The entire process will be video-graphed, according to the SOP issued by the BMC. The AIIMS Bhubaneswar had received 162 bodies and 81 of them were handed over to the family members of the deceased in the first phase. Later, another 53 bodies were given to the family members following DNA tests but the remains of 28 others have been unclaimed, the official said.

The bodies were kept in at least five deep freezer containers procured from the Paradip Port Trust. The Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, Bengaluru-Howrah Super Fast Express and a goods train were involved in the accident.

The Coromandel Express crashed into a stationary goods train, derailing most of its coaches around 7 pm on June 2 near the Bahanaga Bazar station. A few coaches of the Coromandel Express whiplashed the last few coaches of the Bengaluru-Howrah Express which was passing by at the same time.