The Police have recovered four bodies from drains so far in North East Delhi in the aftermath of the anti-Hindu riots in the national capital. The first body recovered from the drains was Ankit Sharma, an Intelligence Bureau official, on Wednesday. Three more bodies were recovered on Thursday. The Police sought the help of local divers to fish out the bodies from the drains.
A senior police officer told the Indian Express (IE), “We have found four bodies from drains in Northeast district. This is near areas where the violence took place on Monday and Tuesday. We have a list of missing persons in the area and are looking to identify the people. Local police teams have been deployed to search houses and buildings. The drains will be searched to check for more bodies.”
The bodies were identified by Thursday evening. One of the bodies was identified as Musharraf. He was found in the Chand Bagh drain. “We went everywhere but did not find him until someone known to Musharraf (35) told us that he was thrown into the drain. When we could not find him in the drain, we visited GTB Hospital on Thursday morning and found his body there,” Farheen, the deceased’s sister told Times of India.
Another body has been identified as Mohsin. He was recovered from the Bhajanpura drain. “Around 5pm on Tuesday, he had to come to Bhajanpura for some work. A mob surrounded his car and asked him to remove his pants. He managed to call up one of his friends. But before anyone could do anything to save him, the men bashed him and threw him in a drain,” said Waris Ali Khan, Mohseen’s uncle.
A senior doctor at the GTB Hospital told IE, “The three bodies were brought around 10.30 am. The deceased must have faced horrible conditions before their bodies were dumped in the drain. All three bodies are half-decomposed. It seems like they died around two to three days ago. Prima facie, there are injuries on the head, face and chest. There might be some burn injuries as well. Everything will be confirmed after a post-mortem.”
The Delhi Police on Thursday released details of 37 people killed in the communal riots in the national capital. Among those who lost their lives, one was police personnel and another was an IB official, while the others are civilians. More than 200 people have been injured during the anti-Hindu CAA riots in New Delhi.