SC dismisses petition seeking probe into those responsible for corpses in the Ganga

THE Supreme Court Monday dismissed a petition seeking an investigation into those responsible for the dead bodies floating in the river Ganga in districts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, Vineet Saran and MR Shah passed the order to this effect.

The petition was filed by advocate Pradeep Kumar Yadav, who, in his plea, sought the constitution of a special investigating agency to supervise the probe into the death of 100 people whose dead bodies were found floating in the river Ganga in Bihar's Buxar and Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur and Unnao districts.

In the midst of the second wave, hundreds of corpses were found floating in the river or buried in the sand on the river bank.

Last month, the NHRC took cognizance of a complaint about several dead bodies found floating in the Ganga and issued notices to the Chief Secretaries of UP and Bihar.

The NHRC had said public authorities had failed to make concerted efforts to educate the masses and to prevent the immersion of half-burnt or unburnt dead bodies into the river. "The practice of disposal of dead bodies in our sacred river Ganga is clearly in violation of guidelines of the National Mission for Clean Ganga project of Ministry of Jal Shakti, Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, the NHRC said.