Bodies of all three victims yet to be identified
Three days after three persons were charred to death when an air-conditioned bus caught fire at Rampura Phul, 35 km from here, the bodies of the deceased remained to be identified even on Tuesday. The administration now plans to wait till Thursday before cremating them.
The bodies are kept in the mortuary at the Bathinda civil hospital. Though some families had come to recognise the bodies, they could not, said the police. Deputy superintendent of police (DSP), Phul, Jaswinder Singh said that in case the bodies are not identified, the police would preserve their DNA before the last rites. Deputy commissioner Diprava Lakra said, “Ideally the administration waits for three days for identification of unclaimed bodies, but in this case we will wait for two more days till Thursday.”
“We are keeping our fingers crossed,” said civil surgeon Dr Raghuvir Singh Randhawa, “But if the identification doesn't happen, there is a proposal to send the bodies to Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital in Faridkot for collecting and preserving DNA samples before cremation.”
Meanwhile, police arrested Charanjit Singh, the driver of the private bus of Raiya Transport Company, and booked him under section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Earlier the police had booked the driver and Gurmail Singh, owner of the firm, under 304A (causing death by negligence) and other sections.