130 Days After Odisha Train Tragedy, 28 Unclaimed Bodies Cremated At Bharatpur

Bhubaneswar: The 28 bodies, lying unclaimed following the Bahanaga Bazaar train tragedy in Odisha’s Balasore on June 2, were finally cremated at Bharatpur crematorium, on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, on Tuesday.

The AIIMS-Bhubaneswar, where these bodies were preserved, informed that it had handed over all the bodies to Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), which was tasked with the job of scientifically disposing of the bodies with no rightful claimants.

The premier hospital had received 123 bodies on the night of July 4 and another 39 from Capital Hospital and other private health facilities. Among them, 81 bodies were identified by the relatives. Identity of another 53 was confirmed by DNA profiling and handed over to the families. “The remaining 28 bodies were handed over to BMC for final cremation on October 10,” AIIMS-Bhubaneswar said in a release.

The CBI, which is investigating the accident, had recently given the go-ahead to Khurda administration for the cremation of the bodies. An intimation was then sent to the BMC to prepare a standard operating procedure for the same and also AIIMS, where the bodies were preserved.

According to sources, the cremation began around 5 pm when three bodies arrived at the ground from AIIMS under the supervision of a senior BMC official. The bodies were brought to the crematorium in a hearse in the presence of officials of the civic body, East Coast Railway (ECoR) and CBI. Arrangements were made for wood and ghee to ensure that bodies were cremated with dignity. An NGO was engaged to conduct the ‘Mukhagni’ (lightning the funeral pyre) and collect the bone pieces for immersion in water bodies. The process was delayed as the bodies took more time than usual due to their frozen state, the sources added.

The entire process was video-graphed.

June 2 witnessed India’s worst rail accident in three decades as the Chennai-bound Coromandel Express crashed into a stationary goods train at Bahanaga Bazaar and a few of its derailed coaches then collided with the onrushing Howrah-bound Yeshwantpur-Howrah Express, leaving 296 dead and over 1,000 injured.