Police stations get body bags

JAGATSINGHPUR: The district police has given cadaver bags to all police stations to ensure that dead bodies are handled in a respectful manner. This is the first time such bags have been given to the police to carry bodies. Sources said the move came in the wake of incidents of disrespect shown to bodies by carrying them on bicycle, trolley, bamboo poles, tractors or shoulders.

It becomes difficult for police if bodies remain unclaimed. Though the State Government provides `1,000 and `1,500 in urban and rural areas respectively and `2,000 in special cases for carrying bodies, the amount is insufficient in cases of drowning, unclaimed and decomposed bodies. Often, the fund comes at the fag-end of the financial year. But, there is no provision of fund for fishing out bodies and the police have to manage it on their own.

Superintendent of Police J N Pankaj said the bag is non-porous and will prevent leakage of body fluids. It has a full-length zipper. "We have procured adequate number of body bags or pouches to ensure that the bodies are carried with respect."The district police is also in the process of supplying body boxes to police stations.