A month later, Odisha train accident victims' kin still wait for bodies

Almost a month after a deadly three-train accident killed nearly 300 people, some of those whose family members perished in the tragedy are still waiting to get their bodies.

The identities of 81 bodies preserved in three containers at the Bhubaneswar All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) are yet to be ascertained.

A railway official told PTI that they were appealing to claimants to provide their DNA samples. “We are just a bridge between AIIMS and the state government,” the official said.

One of the persons undergoing the agony of not being able to get the body of her husband and perform his last rites is Basanti Devi from Bari-Ballia village in Bihar’s Begusarai district.

She has been camping in a guest house near AIIMS for the last 10 days but she has had no luck.

Widow moans

Her husband, Yogendra Paswan, a contract labourer, was killed in the accident at Bahanaga Bazar while returning home in the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, she said, as tear rolled down her cheeks.

She claimed that officials have not told her when she will get the body. While some officials say it will take five more days, others say it could take more time.

“I have five children. I have left behind three and brought two sons with me. My husband was the sole breadwinner. I don’t know how I will be able to survive,” she said.

Narayan Rishidev from Purnia also in Bihar too has been waiting to claim the body of his grandson Suraj Kumar since June 4. Suraj was travelling to Chennai in the Coromandel Express in search of a job.

“The authorities have already taken my DNA sample, but the report is yet to come,” he added.

Shivkant Roy from West Bengal’s Cooch Behar district said his son Vipul was returning home from Tirupati for his marriage in June-end.

“My son’s body was kept at KIMS Hospital but I kept looking for him in a Balasore hospital. I was later said that KIMS Hospital handed over the body to someone from Bihar, who cremated it,” Shivkant Roy told PTI.

Another sad tale

Similarly, Rajkali Devi from Bihar’s Mizaffarpur too has been waiting for her husband’s body who too was on way to Chennai.

As many as 35 persons are camping at the guest house while 15 others have left for home due to delay in arrival of DNA reports.

PTI repeatedly tried to contact AIIMS director Ashutosh Biswas but the calls were not answered.

The Chennai-bound Coromandel Express, Howrah-bound SMVP-Howrah Superfast Express and a goods train were involved in a deadly accident near Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore district on June 2 killing more than 290 people and injuring huundreds.

(With agency inputs)