Four unidentified bodies, three male and one female, which were recovered from the Narayani-Gandak river in Uttar Pradesh’s Maharajganj district, have been returned to the Nepal administration after postmortem examinations.
Maharajganj is bordering Nepal and was on high alert after the flash flood hit Nepal. Rivers and other water bodies that take water from Nepal are on continuous monitoring, the officials revealed. The bodies, as said by the officials, were kept at the Maharajganj district hospital mortuary. Later, during the postmortem, DNA samples were collected to help know the identities. These samples were shared with the Nepal administration, which later were matched with the families of those searching for the missing members.
“The bodies were transported in two ambulances and handed over to the Nawalparasi administration at the Maheshpur border near Thuthibari late Sunday night.” Nichlaul Tehsildar Amit Singh, the head of the operations, said India Today reported.
The recovery of the bodies came amid the flood situation in Nepal, with authorities in Maharajganj maintaining surveillance along the river as strong currents carried bodies downstream into Indian territory.
“All necessary legal and administrative formalities were completed before the bodies were handed over to Nepal Police,” said Additional District Magistrate Prashant Kumar. In total, six bodies were recovered from the Gandak River in the Maharajganj and Kushinagar districts, bordering Nepal. The Gandak, which is also known as Narayani in Nepal, flows from Nepal into India before it joins the Ganga. Three bodies, including two of women, were recovered from Maharjganj on Thursday while the Sashastra Seema Bal rescue team monitored the river and adjoining areas.
“We are displaying photographs of the unidentified bodies kept here. If people recognise someone from the photographs, we show them the body for identification. If the body is identified, it will be handed over after the post-mortem. If it remains unidentified, it will be kept here for further identification. We have also uploaded the records on the website, including those from Nawalparasi, Chitwan and Nuwakot. The records available here are only of the bodies kept at this location, while the rest are available on the website,” A Nepal Police official said talking to PTI.
Three more bodies were recovered from the Gandak. These bodies were recovered from Pier Number 3 in the Madanpur-Sukrauli area of Khadda, following which the police and administrative officials reached the spot. In neighboring Kushinagar, three more bodies were recovered from the Gandak. They were spotted near barrage pier number 3 in the Madanpur-Sukrauli area of Khadda, prompting police and administrative officials to reach the spot.
The bodies were spotted by Khadda SHO Sandeep Singh and SDRF monitoring teams floating in the river, they said. Alongside the bodies, the river also carried vehicles, household essentials, gas cylinders, drums, furniture, and more. Authorities in Maharajganj and Kushinagar have increased surveillance along the river, with SSB, SDRF, police, and district administration teams monitoring the areas. Officials also say that more bodies could be recovered from Indian territory. The flash floods in Nepal started on August 26, following a sudden surge in the Bhotekoshi River in the Rasuwa region, with floodwaters flowing through the Trishuli and Gandak river systems into downstream areas.
