|
 |
|
Guard the killers: At a time, five cops guard the bodies of nine terrorists preserved at the Sir J J Hospital morgue. pic/datta kumbhar | Docs at J J Hospital morgue hope the bodies will be identified soon; cops grumble about guarding dead bodies of 9 terrorists
Now, only two dead bodies, out of the 172 victims who died in the terror attacks on November 26, lie unclaimed at the Sir J J Hospital morgue.
In spite of receiving one inquiry a day by families, no one has come forward to claim them.
According to the Criminal Procedure Code, a dead body is to be kept in the morgue for at least seven days, after which the police are empowered to dispose it according to the religion of the person. But doctors are confident that the bodies will be claimed soon.
We're confident
A resident at the J J postmortem centre said that the two bodies have been preserved at the morgue. "We have preserved them at a temperature of 4°C and they have been embalmed to ensure that stiffness does not set it. Both the bodies are of male Indian nationals, and we have put up their pictures at the hospital. But no one has come forward to claim them. But, we are confident it will happen soon."
The resident added that the morgue attends to at least one family a day who come to seek information about their loved ones that are missing.
"These families have been unable to locate their relatives or friends as yet. It is sad to see them come desperately looking for some sign of hope."
The police can even preserve a body for the purpose of investigation or feel that the relatives of the deceased will turn up.
Guarding dead terrorists
Fifteen policemen have been deployed to guard the nine unclaimed bodies of the terrorists at the morgue who were gunned down during the attacks.
The long hours seem to have taken a toll on the guards whose duty lasts for eight to 10 hours at a stretch. "It is frustrating to guard over dead bodies, and that too of these terrorists," said a constable. Five policemen guard the bodies in rotation. | 
