More skeletons found in Uttar Pradesh Police line

Even as skeletons surface in various police campuses and old buildings across UP following unearthing of human remains in Unnao, the state police suspect they could be unclaimed bodies.

Sources here said hundreds of human skeletons were discovered in Baharaich and Gorakhpur districts, confounding the police.  They said a large number of skeletons were recovered from a room in police lines in Baharaich, about 200 kilometres from state capital Lucknow.

In Gorakhpur, about 270 kilometres from the capital, reports suggested that skeletons were discovered at an old post-mortem house in the cantonment area.

Local officials said the place used to be a post-mortem house which was shifted to the medical college hospital.

Officials now fear that more skeletons could be found in other police lines and old buildings where post-mortems used to be held.

On Thursday, over a hundred skeletons were found wrapped in plastic bags and dumped in a room close to the servant quarters and the police station at Unnao, triggering panic among the officials.

While ruling out foul play, officials admitted that the recovery raised serious questions over the way unclaimed bodies had been disposed.

“It seems that a large number of unclaimed bodies had simply been dumped and are not disposed off in accordance with the rules,” a senior official said here.  While the government provides Rs 800 to dispose unclaimed bodies, he said the persons concerned had pocketed the money and did not dispose the bodies.

Hospital authorities said police often failed to provide adequate documents while bringing the corpses for post-mortem examinations, resulting in unclaimed bodies.