Panipat “I've identified Ayesha and the younger one. But the bodies have been burnt to such an extent how do I identify the others?”
Samjhauta Express blast survivor Rana Shaukat Ali.has been able to identify just two of his five children killed in the Samjhauta Express blast.
With the bodies decaying fast, he is losing hope of finding his three other children and wishes he could at least perform their last rites.
“Whatever their condition, it would be better if we could take our children back and bury them ourselves, by our customs,” says Ali.
At the Panipat hospital, Ali is one among many going through the motions of identification and deposition. Of the 68 dead, 38 bodies have been identified so far, 31 of whom are Pakistanis.
But the bodies embalmed on the second day of the mishap have now started decaying and burial has become a pressing need
“Wither the bodies should be taken to be preserved or buried,” says Panipat ADC Amit Agarwal.
Bodies of 14 Pakistani victims have already been taken back by their relatives, while six victims will be buried in a village near Panipat on Friday.
Meanwhile, the local administration has sought advise from the external affairs ministry on this issue.
Pakistan embassy counselor Muktas Hussein has confirmed that there is no intimation from the Indian government over the burial of the unidentified dead bodies.
But looking at the decaying bodies - if at all they are cremated - for the affected families, it would be a double tragedy having lost their loved ones and also being devoid of performing their last rites.
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