KANPUR: More than 100 human skeletons and 400 viscera found dumped in a locked room of the Reserve Police Lines in Unnao on Thursday triggered panic as it comes barely a month of 80 decaying bodies surfacing in the Ganga near Pariyar Ghat of the district on January 13.

The skeletons were kept in 22-25 sacks scattered all around in the room, located opposite the police quarters and Mahila police station.

Reports said a few painters were working inside the Reserve Police Lines premises, when they curiously peeped into the room through an open window and saw human remains piled up in huge number. They immediately alerted the police who rushed there and sent the remains to the post-mortem house.

Police sources said that the skeletons were body parts that were used for crime investigation and left in the room once used as store of a police hospital but was lying unused and locked for nearly 20-25 years. Senior district police officials, however, said they were yet to reach to any conclusion and added that investigations were underway.

IG (law and order) A Satish Ganesh claimed in Lucknow that the room where the human remains were found was part of the post-mortem house that was operational at the police lines till 2008. “Actually, it was the room for storing viscera samples and other human remains like unidentified mutilated bodies which were sent for postmortem and had to be preserved for further action on the basis of court orders,” the IG told TOI.

He said Unnao SP has been asked to submit a detailed report in this connection. “We will get the report by Friday. The room is a 12 by 15 feet structure so one can imagine the number of bodies that could be accommodated in it. We will, however, have a clearer picture about the count by Friday morning,” the IG said.

“The building was dilapidated, was declared condemned and was notified for demolition. The place was desolate and someone may have taken photographs of the stored skeletons through a broken window. However, things will be clear only after Unnao SP sends his report,” the IG added.

Unnao SP Mahendra Pal Singh said, “We are looking into the recovery of skeletons and viscera. The skeletons are very old. As per 2008 and 2012 records, nearly 400 viscera and 1,000 body parts, including skulls, limbs and pelvic bones of nearly 100 unidentified bodies were kept at the police hospital room for investigation. However, proper probe and DNA testing would be done to corroborate the facts. We will also look into the case thoroughly to ascertain as to why the human remains were not disposed of.”

Singh said that he had visited the site and a team of forensic experts and police had collected evidence. “We would arrange to send the remains to the forensic laboratory in Lucknow for DNA test for concrete scientific investigations.”

Unnao reports said as panic prevailed in the area, no one initially dared to enter the room that emanated unbearable stench. It was only with the help of some class IV civic employees arranged by the Unnao police that investigators entered the room and the remains were taken away to the district hospital mortuary.

“Dumping human remains in such a pathetic condition, that too in Police Lines is definitely an offence as procedures say that bodies should be disposed of according to rituals after post-mortem,” said Suresh Srivastava , a senior criminal lawyer .

This is the second incident where state government functioning has come to be questioned. On January 13, nearly 80 human bodies were found floating near Pariyar Ghat of Unnao in the Ganga and the Centre had ordered a probe.

