Bhadrak (Odisha): The mystery of missing bodies from a graveyard in Odisha’s Bhadrak district has depened.
In a shocking incident, bodies of five villagers — Khageswar Samal, Hatabandhu Beuria, Kartik Nayak, Saraswati Behera and Kalandi Behera — who died in the last two months, have gone missing, informed Rajlakshmi Nayak, inspector in-charge (IIC) of Bhandaripokhari police station.
There have been multiple cases of missing bodies from Swargadwar cremation ground, located on the Baitarani riverbed, where bodies are traditionally buried after funeral rites.
In 2016, villagers discovered that the body of a child had been dug out two months after his death, said Solampur panchayat Paramana
nda Nayak, reported PTI.
The same year, the body of Anam Behera was also exhumed from his grave.
In 2017, the bodies of Basanta Das, who died in a road accident, and headmaster Basudev Das went missing from the cremation ground.
In June 2023, three bodies went missing, prompting villagers to lodge a complaint at the police station.
Last April, Rukmini Samal was buried after he had died of cardiac arrest. When Rukmini’s son visited the burial site during the tenth-day ritual, the grave was found to be dug up and the body was missing.
Water and liquor bottles were found at the site, while decomposed flesh and parts of clothes were discovered about 200 metres away. Her husband Srimanta had lodged a police complaint.
Local villagers are of the opinion that police did not give adequate importance to the multiple complaints lodged so far.
Villagers believe that the dead bodies may have been stolen for occult practices, scientific experiments, or other purposes.
Bhadrak SP Manoj Rout has directed IIC Bhandaripokhari police station to investigate the repeated case of missing bodies.