Delhi Police helpless as national capital becoming a dumping ground for unidentified dead bodies

On an average, more than seven unidentified bodies are found every day in Delhi. So, who is dumping these bodies in the national Capital? Has Delhi virtually become a dumping ground for bodies?

These are the unanswered questions plaguing Delhi Police. Meanwhile, the city has 14 mortuaries two of them autonomous, three under the Central government, one under the municipal corporation and eight under the Delhi government. Most are filled beyond capacity, said senior government officials requesting anonymity.

"In recent years, we have been dealing with decaying bodies which are more than three months old. It is not only a health hazard but also a matter of dignity of the human employees working in mortuaries. And none of them have a permanent government job," said the official.

As per Delhi Police data, since 2016, as many as 6,232 unidentified bodies (of male, female and children) were found across the city. Bodies of several people who have been killed are thrown on the roads, railway tracks and secluded areas.

According to police officers, a large number of bodies are found in the drains flowing into Delhi from Haryana. Police find bodies on a daily basis in the drains near Shalimar Bagh, Wazirabad, Okhla, Najafgarh and GTK bypass.

The railway stations where bodies are discovered include New Delhi, Old Delhi, Shahdara, Nizamuddin and other small stations.

Police also claimed that a significant number of unidentified bodies are found in parks. The police said 35-40 per cent of unidentified bodies are found on the railway tracks.

"In the cases where there are clear injury marks on the body and seems like a murder, we immediately register a case of murder at the local police station," said a senior police officer.

Officials say that the recovery of these bodies also includes a few cases of natural deaths.

"Once the body is found, we try to trace the family members by spreading the message in the nearby area and other police stations. In many cases the bodies are identified with the help of missing complaints filed from their families. In other cases, we make announcements and offer rewards for those who come forward to claim the body," said a police officer.

The police reach the spot from where the body is found, the nearby place and the clothes on the corpse are thoroughly checked. Cops investigate the case accordingly if anything that could lead to the identification of the body is suspected.

"The body is preserved for 72 hours and if nobody claims it, we perform final rituals," said a senior official.

Investigators can also seek an extension of the preservation period if they have made any progress in the case.

"The number of cases is so high that the police have to put a limit on the number of extensions they seek," the officer said.

"The first extension can be sought for another 72 hours, followed by subsequent extensions of 48 hours, depending on the progress of the case."

"The extensions lead to a massive pile-up of bodies in mortuaries, way beyond their capacity. The biggest problem is mutilated bodies, whose preservation becomes a big challenge and poses serious hazards to workers who deal with bodies in the mortuary every day," said a hospital official.

It is important to mention that if natural and unnatural deaths (murders) are combined, the figure (number of bodies found every day) climb to nine or 10.