First six bodies laid to rest in Mehrana graveyard

The clouds over the Mehrana graveyard seemed darker than ever.

The clouds over the Mehrana graveyard seemed darker than ever. Three kilometres from the Grand Trunk Road, Mehrana 8212; a sleepy village on the Panipat-Gohana road 8212; was abuzz with activities on Friday as the bodies of six victims of Samjhauta Express were buried here after proper religious rites.

The village kabristan graveyard has been chosen by the district administration for a mass burial of all unidentified bodies on Saturday. According to official sources, there are around 25 bodies lying at the Panipat hospital waiting to be identified.

Relatives of those buried, including five Pakistanis who were returning from Nadiad in Gujarat after attending a wedding, were present here on Friday. The victims were returning to their home town in Karachi when the blasts killed them. Nine people from Nadiad have been camping here for the last three days to claim the bodies. They decided to bury the dead as the bodies were decomposing fast.

8220;We couldn8217;t wait anymore. The bodies were decomposing fast. Moreover, some of our relatives are in Pakistan and a few others in Gujarat,8221; said Qadir Bhai, a relative of the victims. 8220;We will leave for Nadiad tonight,8221; he added.

The deceased were identified as Anwar Bhai 44, an Indian national, Mamoona 40, her children Furqan 20, Anam 14, her cousin Ishuik Bhai 60 and his wife Mariam 55, all residents of Karachi.

The identification of bodies had even led to minor confusion on Thursday, as another family from Pakistan claimed the body of Mariam. Later, the body was given to the Pakistani family, who identified the deceased as Ashiya of Lahore. While those from Nadiad identified another body as that of Mariam. The family from Nadiad were not alone in their hour of grief, over two thousand men turned up for the last rites. Senior district administration, police officers and Pakistan High Commission official were also present. The graveyard, which came into existence even before the partition, now mostly caters to the migrant industrial labourers. 8220;We will now dig fresh graves for more bodies,8221; said Haji Ahmed, the caretaker.