Govt must devise mechanism for identification of 'abandoned' dead bodies, says SHC

KARACHI: Directing the provincial government to devise a ‘mechanism’ for identification of ‘unclaimed’ and ‘abandoned’ dead bodies, the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday also summoned a detailed report on progress of the court orders in two weeks, ARY News reported.

The court remarks surfaced during a hearing of the missing persons case.

During the proceeding, police submitted a report to the bench which was compiled after collecting data from various welfare organizations.

The report revealed that around 84,000 ‘abandoned’ and unidentified bodies were buried in Edhi graveyard alone while the stipulated figure could be much higher than it as Chhipa and other welfare organizations did not have appropriate system to establish identity of the unclaimed bodies.

In light of the police report, the bench remarked that it is due responsibility of the government of Sindh and the provincial police department to devise a mechanism for identification of the unclaimed, unidentified and abandoned bodies.

The bench expressing its concern over the matter, said that the welfare organizations are not obliged to maintain the record of ‘unidentified’ dead bodies rather it is responsibility of the government institution.