Exhumed bodies buried again in Bethu

The remains of bodies exhumed during the construction of a trench for waste management by the Napoklu gram panchayat at the Hindu burial ground in Bethu village were buried once again on Monday.

The move by the gram panchayat of digging a trench in the Hindu burial ground with the help of an excavator, had created a controversy.

Accusing the gram panchayat authorities of hurting the religious sentiments of people, various Hindu outfits had conducted protests.

On Monday, Hindu activists buried the remains which were exhumed during the operation, and offered prayers on the occasion.

Zilla Panchayat member Padiyammanda Murali Karumbaiah said that during digging of trench, huge trees in the burial ground have been illegally felled. “Napoklu gram panchayat president, vice president and a member issued a statement saying that the trenches were created using their own funds. As they have admitted of digging trenches and felling trees in a government land, legal action should be initiated against them”, he said.

The gram panchayat president had falsely stated that there were no bodies at the place where the trench was created.
But a skeleton was found during an operation of filling the trenches, carried out by the district administration, which proves that the statement by the gram panchayat president was false. The general public, irrespective of religion, caste and creed, have condemned the heinous work by the gram panchayat authorities, he added.

Leaders of Hindu outfits meanwhile demanded for the arrest of the accused.