New Delhi: A public interest litigation was filed before the Supreme Court on Thursday, seeking to set up a special investigating team to supervise the inquiry into around 100 corpses found floating in the river Ganga in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, Scroll.in reported quoting ANI.
The petition filed by lawyers Pradeep Yadav and Vishal Thakre sought direction to form the special team and direct the authorities concerned to conduct autopsies of the bodies found floating in the Ganga in Bihar’s Buxar and Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur and Unnao districts. Multiple such incidents have been reported this week. Bodies were also found floating in a river in Madhya Pradesh’s Panna district.
The petitioners said that the incidents raise serious concern as the river water is the freshwater source for many people living in those areas. They said that if the bodies were infected with the coronavirus, it might spread in the villages of both states.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) too, has taken cognisance of a complaint about several dead bodies found floating in the river Ganga in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. It has issued notices to the chief secretaries of both the states and the secretary, Union Ministry of Jal Shakti (Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation), calling for action taken report within four weeks.