Unnao District Does were more than 100 individuals, mostly unmarried girls and children, found floating or buried in the Ganges River in the Unnao District, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Case[]
The first bodies were found by some villagers at Ganga Ghat Shuklaganj Balu Ghat, 60 kilometers southwest of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh and 30 kilometers northeast of Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Upon being reported, authorities blocked off the area and began retrieving the bodies. Over the next few days, more bodies would be recovered, numbering to 104. An additional six bodies were found in the neighboring Jhansi District.
Shortly before the discovery, a new barrage in Unnao was constructed on the river. This is believed to have led to the lowering of the water level in the area and the eventual discovery of the remains. Due to the decomposition and animal activity on the bodies, postmortem analysis was not possible, including the ability to ascertain identities, causes of death, or the gender of most victims, and, according to the Times of India, some of the sanitation workers refused to handle the remains.
As the Ganges River is regarded as a holy river by Hindus, local police theorized that the victims were unmarried girls or children dumped or buried by their families who could not afford a proper burial or cremation. The victims were later buried at the riverbank.
A team of doctors led by a chief medical officer named Geeta Yadav had collected DNA samples from the remains. It is unknown if this has led to any identifications.
Sources[]
- DNA India
- Times of India
- Unnao District Does on Wikipedia