“It is a big lapse on our part. The dead bodies were not disposed of after carrying out post-mortem or DNA test. I admit that it is a big fault. We are in the process of fixing the responsibility,” Superintendent of Police of Unnao M.P. Singh said.
However, he reiterated that the area where the skeletons were kept was a police hospital till 2008. The room in which these sacks were found was used as mortuary earlier.
Deputy Inspector General R.K. Chaturvedi said: “I don’t deny that something is grossly wrong. Someone is responsible for such a lapse. Let the probe get over before we reach a conclusion.”
However, he contradicted the SP’s claim that the bodies were kept in the room after post-mortem or DNA test.
“They are samples of remains of dead people, which were not sent for laboratory test for some reason,” he said.
The state government had ordered a police inquiry in 2009 when more than 100 skeletons were found in Unnao’s Ganganagar area.
“It appears that the skeletons were kept in sacks in the police line to suppress certain facts and no investigation was carried out. As per my understanding, it was a bizarre incident. So many skeletons have been kept there without knowing who the deceased were. It is not clear whether they were killed en-masse or individually? It is clear that the police don’t keep the bodies of those who die naturally. So these are clearly the skeletons of people whose deaths were unnatural,” said a police officer on the condition of anonymity.
“On an average, around Rs 2,500 is given to a police station in the state to dispose of unclaimed bodies. Obviously someone was pocketing this money over the years. One police station receives around 10 unclaimed bodies in Unnao every month,” he said.
Meanwhile, a four-member team, including a forensic expert, has been formed by the state government to investigate the case. The police have sealed the area.
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