AJNALA: At least 282 human skulls, besides parts of broken jaws and bones were discovered in a well in Gurdwara Shaheed Ganj in Ajnala near Amritsar.The remains were found after three days of digging at the Shaheedan Wala Khu (martyrs’ well). They are believed to be of people killed by the British in 1857. The remains have been placed in glass boxes for the general public to pay their respects."We believe the relics are of 282 soldiers as many skulls and jaw bones have broken into pieces over a period of nearly 157 years," said Gurdwara Shaheed Ganj president Amarjit Singh Sarkaria.Ajnala sub-divisional magistrate Surinder Singh visited the site and discussed the preservation of the site with the archaeology department.The relics are of Indian soldiers from the 26th Native Infantry Regiment deployed at Mian Mir, near Lahore, in 1857 which had mutinied after the Revolt of 1857 began. On July 30, 1857 soldiers of the regiment under the leadership of Parkash Pandy killed a British major and a sergeant major and headed towards Ajnala town where they were overpowered and arrested by a large British contingent.Around 200 soldiers were put in a cage-like room in Ajnala where they died of asphyxiation while the remaining 282 were shot and their bodies were dragged and thrown in the well which later came to be known as Kalian Wala Khu (well of blacks). Later the local gurdwara management changed its name to Shaheedan Wala Khu."We have sought their cremation with full military honors as well as raising a memorial to them at the site," said historian Surinder Kochar. He said once the government agreed to raising memorial and museum, they would cremate the remains of soldiers.Sarkaria said if government didn't provide them sufficient land for raising memorial, they would keep the relics in the gurdwara precincts till they gathered enough money to buy the land and erect a memorial. After that they would cremate the relics and immerse the ashes in Goindwal Sahib and Haridwar."We have talked to senior officials of archaeology department who have sought a detailed report of the excavation," said the Ajnala SDM who along with officials of archaeology department visited the site.Apart from the remains 70 coins from 1830 — 1835, two British medals, three gold balls and an amulet were recovered during the excavation by the Gurdwara management, local volunteers and historians without government support.