300 bodies found on Pune railway tracks in past three years remain unidentified

The railway police in Pune have recorded around 300 unidentified bodies found on the tracks in the past three years

Pune: The railway police have recorded around 300 unidentified bodies found on the tracks in the past three years. In 2021, 132 cases of accidental deaths have been reported and of that 30 bodies are yet to be identified. The figure of unidentified bodies in 2020 was 79 in the 250 accidental death cases and it was 191 unidentified bodies of 206 accidental cases in 2019.

The railway police in Pune have recorded around 300 unidentified bodies found on the tracks in the past three years. (HT FILE (FOR REPRESENTATIONAL PURPOSE))

“It is a major challenge to identify mangled bodies. Most of the cases are related to suicides. Sometimes the victims’ personal belongings that could help in identification are stolen by the time the police are alerted. Hence, it becomes difficult to term the death as suicide or accident or murder in case of such cases,” said railway police station incharge Maula Shaikh.

During the investigation, the police gather clues like birthmark, scar, tattoo, tailor mark on the clothing of the body. According to the railway police, the number of accidental deaths has dropped due to the Covid lockdown period wherein there was no rail travel. Amongst the reasons for accidental deaths include crossing the tracks, losing balance, and falling on tracks after losing balance from a running train.

The police are also following the court directives of taking immediate efforts for the collection of viscera samples from unidentified bodies for DNA test as and when required.