AS Chawla, IGP, Law and Order, Panchkula, said there are certain formalities while handing over a dead body or while discharging a person
As many as 17 bodies of those killed are lying in the morgue of Civil Hospital, Panchkula, since Friday. All these persons were killed in clashes between police and supporters of Dera Sacha Sauda, which erupted immediately after the special CBI court found the Dera chief guilty of rape. However, there are still no takers for these bodies, of which 10 have been identified.
Doctors and police officers say fear of legal action is the main reason why the relatives of these dead aren't approaching the police for claiming the bodies.
Even the dozens of injured lying in the hospital are wary of sharing their addresses or contact numbers of their family members.
Same is the story in Chandigarh hospital, with the police saying many of these victims are giving false information for fear of action.
This has also led to overcrowding of wards as most of the injured have not been discharged, even though many of them are out of danger.
Talking to DNA, senior police officers said those who come to claim the dead bodies or attend to their injured family members will have to undergo a thorough verification and, if found involved, could be booked under relevant sections of IPC. Police officers also say they are looking at the option of booking those who are discharged for violating Section 144.
AS Chawla, IGP, Law and Order, Panchkula, said there are certain formalities while handing over a dead body or while discharging a person. "Since we will have their records, their pictures will be taken which will be matched with the video evidence that the police have recorded. If found involved in violence or rioting, they will be traced and booked," he said. Chawla agreed that this could be a reason why family members are refraining from claiming the dead bodies or coming to take care of the injured.
Police also said that many of the injured have given false information to doctors and police. A senior officer said, "When records of injured with the doctors were verified, information provided by the victims turned out to be false. They have been misguiding the police," the officer said.
At Civil Hospital, Panchkula, 68-year-old Ishro Devi, who has fractured her right leg, is weeping continuously, requesting the police and doctors to help her contact her son in her village, about 150 kms away from Panchkula. The woman claims some youth of her village put her in a vehicle along with others from her neighbourhood and brought them to Panchkula on the pretext that the Dera chief had asked them for support.
She acknowledges she is a follower of the Dera.
70-year-old Kakka Singh who was brought to the hospital with injury in back and a broken leg, also refuses to share details of his family or his address. Singh, who came from Bhatinda, Punjab, has a chit in the pocket of his shirt on which a family member's contact number is written, but the number of not reachable.
THE FEAR FACTOR
- AS Chawla, IGP, Law and Order, Panchkula, said there are certain formalities while handing over a dead body or while discharging a person.
- Since we will have their records, their photos will be taken which will be matched with video evidence.
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