West Bengal government wants to cremate Gyaneshwari victims
By IANSSunday, June 13, 2010
KOLKATA - The West Bengal government would seek permission from the court to cremate the decomposed unidentified bodies of victims of the Gyaneshwari Express derailment kept at mortuaries in city hospitals, an official said.
The Mumbai-bound Gyaneshwari Express ran off the tracks because of alleged Maoist sabotage May 28, and soon after a speeding freight train rammed into five derailed coaches. In all, 148 passengers were killed and scores were injured.
So far, bodies of 103 victims have been identified and handed over to their relatives. The remaining 45 corpses are yet to be identified.
A senior state government official said a petition will be filed before the court, seeking permission to cremate the unidentified bodies kept at mortuaries of SSKM Hospital and Nilratan Sarkar Medical College Hospital besides the morgue at Kantapukur.
DNA tests are being conducted to identify the bodies.
“The infrastructures of the mortuaries are not adequate to preserve so many bodies. So, the areas adjacent to them in the hospitals have become polluted,” he said.
On getting the green signal from the court, the government will issue a notification asking claimants to remain present at the mass cremation, the official said.
