Human skeleton parts recovered in hordes from abandoned building

Human skeleton parts recovered in hordes from abandoned building

Authorities at Unnao were in for a shock after hundreds of parts of human skeletons were found inside gunny bags in an abandoned building near the Reserve Police Lines (RPL) premises on Thursday.

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As it turned out, the building used to house a mortuary till 2008 and the bones, in all likelihood, belonged to bodies preserved for laboratory tests to ascertain the cause and circumstances leading to death of different persons.

Nevertheless, district police chief MP Singh has ordered additional superintendent of police (ASP) Ram Kishan to conduct inquiry into the recovery and submit findings within seven days.

Singh reluctantly admitted that preliminary probe suggested there had been negligence in disposing of the human remains while shifting the mortuary to the district hospital seven years ago.

Singh said, "The mortuary had a viscera preserve room to keep the human remains, including skulls, bones and other body parts for necessary laboratory and DNA tests."

In all, 400 body parts, including about 50 to 60 bones, dozens of ribs and skulls and other parts, were recovered.

Going by the police record, some of the remains could date back to 1979.

Singh said, "In court cases, it is the concerning court that has to order for disposal of the remains. As for the rest of the cases, the disposal has to be carried out by a committee comprising administration, police and health officials."