Bahanaga train tragedy: Disposal process of 28 unidentified, unclaimed bodies begins

Bhubaneswar: At least 28 unclaimed and unidentified bodies of Bahanaga train accident victims will be cremated by the civic body here at Satya Nagar and Bharatpur crematoriums. Accordingly, the disposal process of bodies was started today by All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)-Bhubaneswar.

By the evening, till the time when this report was filed, nine bodies were disposed of in the presence of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), East Coast Railway (ECoR) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials. The disposal process is on and will continue throughout the night. The remaining 19 bodies will gradually be disposed and handed over to BMC, a spokesperson of the health facility said.

The bodies are to be handed over to BMC authorities for cremation. As the bodies were kept in deep fridges for nearly the past four months, they have decomposed and cannot be kept any longer.

Worth mentioning, the horrific train accident took place on June 2 evening near Bahanaga Bazaar railway station of Balasore and claimed the lives of 296 people and injured around 1,175 others.

Seven South Eastern Railway (SER) employees were suspended from their services in connection with the fatal mishap. Three arrested former employees then working in Balasore are senior section engineer (Signal) Arun Kumar Mahanta, section engineer Mohammed Amir Khan and technician Pappu Kumar.

An inquiry report of the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS), South Eastern Circle mentioned that the accident occurred due to lapses in the signaling circuit alteration, which was carried out earlier.