At least 11 bodies were recovered during the dredging of Bhakra Dam in Haryana’s Jind district. The bodies recovered were that of 10 males and one female. A message for the identification of dead bodies has been sent across all police stations in the region. A search is underway to fish out more bodies from the dam.
The bodies were recovered near Narwana and Garhi areas of the canal. While eight bodies were recovered from Narwana, three bodies and four skulls were found from Garhi, police said.
Police said they received information on Saturday that a body had been spotted in the canal when the water level was low. Later on, a search was started.
The police is suspecting that the bodies have come from Punjab as the water of this canal flows from the state.
Meanwhile, the Haryana Police have informed their counterparts in Himachal Pradesh and Punjab about the incident and asked for the list of missing persons.
As the news of bodies being recovered from the canal spread, people of nearby villages reached the spot to identify the deceased.
Of the bodies recovered so far, one has been identified as that of Satnam Singh, who is believed to be a resident of Samana in Punjab.
Jind superintendent of police (SP) Shashank Anand said they have been conducting the DNA tests of the bodies to ascertain their identities. “Since Narwana is the border town, bodies are several times recovered from the canal here whenever the water flow is shut for dredging.The water flow was stopped for annual maintenance, due to which the water levels here receded and the bodies were spotted. These bodies haven’t been recovered in one day, but during last one week,” SP Anand said.
He said most of the bodies, most likely coming from Punjab, are in very bad condition, hinting they could be several months old.
