Shifting of bodies uphill task: Cops

Hyderabad: Shifting bodies from the scene of a crime to mortuaries is proving to be a challenging task for the police working in the State capital due to a severe shortage of proper vehicles for the purpose. The situation is such that on many occasions, the police have to literally beg with auto-trolley drivers to […]

Hyderabad: Shifting bodies from the scene of a crime to mortuaries is proving to be a challenging task for the police working in the State capital due to a severe shortage of proper vehicles for the purpose. The situation is such that on many occasions, the police have to literally beg with auto-trolley drivers to shift the body.

“Drivers run away if we tell them the task. If it is a decomposed body, they won’t even hesitate to leave the vehicle and walk away. To be frank, if we fail to convince them, we have to use tactics like collecting their RC book to return them only after they help us shift the body to the mortuary,” admitted a policeman working in the Goshamahal division.

In many instances, the bodies were shifted after covering them with a plastic cover or bedsheet during the rains in open auto-trolleys. A visit to the Osmania General Hospital mortuary acknowledges the problem.

In fact, in police stations like Shahinayathgunj, Afzalgunj, Begum Bazaar, Mangalhat and Kulsumpura, every other day, a body is found on the road.

“It is because many people stay here on pavements and die mostly due to natural causes. Shifting the bodies is a big challenge for the field patrol officers,” a police official said. The situation is the same in the Rachakonda and Cyberabad Police Commissionerates as well.

“During the rains, it is very difficult to shift the bodies of murder victims or of suicide deaths like burning, drowning or accident cases in open vehicles. We have to put a plastic cover on the body and shift it to the mortuary in auto-trolleys,” a constable working with the Rajendranagar police division said.

The City Police had introduced corpse carrier vehicles in 2016. However, the vehicles remain confined to the Police Control Room. On-call from the local police station, the Control Room sends the vehicle to the spot. However, considering the time factor, police personnel mostly avoid seeking the service and instead seek help from local NGOs to provide an ambulance. Police personnel feel higher-ups should provide one vehicle for every police division or at least at the zonal office to shift bodies.

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