INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Buldhana: The ominous feeling of tragedy spilled over into Sunday in Buldhana at the mass cremation of 24 Hindu victims of the bus accident
on Samruddhi Mahamarg on Saturday
The trauma continued for the relatives, as they were forced to perform the last rites of whichever body they got in front of them, believing
This body was handed over to her family, relaxing the norms of scientific identification that the district administration had cited while
should have allowed families the chance to identify their kin
district and police administration, with the initiative of minister Girish Mahajan, had convinced the 24 families to agree for a mass
The reasoning was that the bodies would need scientific identification through DNA analysis, which would take a week
The families were cajoled into giving consent for the mass cremation, which turned into a farce without any plan or process.At the
crematorium, relatives rushed to try and identify their kin, even when the bodies were beyond recognition, referring to height, stature or
Other merely tried to place a garland, or broke down in tears in front of the bodies no one was claiming.It is learnt the bodies of four
women were not claimed by anyone at the Buldhana district hospital mortuary before leaving for the crematorium.Many relatives also tried to
open the plastic sheet wrapped around the bodies, in desperate zeal to catch a last glimpse of their near or dear ones before the pyres were
sisters broke down in front of the pyre.Inconsolable Neelima Khode and her family from Wardha could only look on in stunned grief in front
of a pyre supposed to of her son.The family of model Avantika Pohonekar of Wardha too paid obeisance in front of a pyre they thought was
Her mother, who collapsed during the funeral, was inconsolable.Some families decided to offer homage to all pyres
Vaibhav Adsad, kin of deceased Rajashri Gondole, said their family paid homage to all assuming one of the bodies would be of their kin
After that no efforts were made to identify any of them, except the one of Zoya.The families had been again summoned to the crematorium at
commotion, chaos and confusion, as a huge crowd of locals jostled for space with the mourners and the media.District collector HP Tummod
said the cremation of 24 bodies was unprecedented, and aroused public curiosity
Kadasne said stringent section 304 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) for culpable homicide not amounting to murder has been invoked against driver
said Kadasne.In charge civil surgeon Dr Bhagwat Bhusari said the post mortem reports are being prepared, and would be handed over to the
police and administration
