- Unclaimed bodies at Bhopal's Hamidia Hospital lack identification and relatives
- Bodies are buried in shallow pits at without rituals or records, an NDTV ground report revealed
- No official system exists to track or identify unclaimed bodies at the cremation ground
Every day, unclaimed bodies leave the gates of Bhopal's Hamidia Hospital, shrouded not in love but in a plastic sheet - their final journey watched by no one, mourned by no one. NDTV followed that journey for 10 days - from the hospital mortuary to the city's cremation grounds - and what we found is not just heartbreaking, but haunting. In the shadows of silence, death is no longer sacred - it has become routine. Worse, it has become a racket.
This is not a horror film. This is real - and right here. An ambulance pulls out of Hamidia Hospital. Inside, a body. No name. No face. No relatives. Just a number and a plastic cover. A human life is reduced to a silent load. This is the hospital's mortuary, which only registers the cold stillness of anonymous deaths. "Five to seven unclaimed bodies arrive here some days," says Deepak Raikwar, a mortuary worker. "Beggars, diseased people... they die on the streets, no one asks."
No Ritual, No Farewell - Only a Pit in the Ground
NDTV tracked the journey of these dead. Most are transported to Bhadbhada Vishram Ghat, Bhopal's cremation ground. There, even the final act of dignity - a respectful burial - is lost. There are no chants, no fire, no priest. Just one labourer, often alone, sometimes helped by a police officer who pays from his own pocket. The cost of burying a body? Rs 300. Maybe Rs 600. Sometimes, just a bottle of liquor. "Earlier we used to dig waist-deep graves," recalls Saroj, a former watchman at the site. "Now we get Rs 600. Policemen sometimes give alcohol instead."
At the ghat, NDTV witnessed bodies being dragged by limbs and shoved into shallow half-foot pits. Nearby, dogs gnawed on human bones. A skull rested by the roadside. "This has become a jungle of corpses," Saroj says. "We dig 2-3 pits daily. Often, we just throw one corpse on top of another."
Bones in the Bushes, Questions in the Air
NDTV recorded scenes no one should see: dogs chewing scattered skeletons, skulls bleaching under the sun, and death made casual and contemptuous. "4000 to 6000 bodies have come here," Saroj estimates. "Earlier pigs would eat them, now it's dogs."
There are no registers. No documentation. No system to identify who was laid to rest, or where. Twenty years ago, two truckloads of bones were sent to Haridwar. Since then - nothing.
A Shirt, A Saree - The Last Hope of Identity
Sometimes families do come, desperately seeking missing loved ones. They scan the heaps of clothing tied to bodies. In this desolate space, a torn saree or a faded shirt is the last remnant of identity. "Whatever they died wearing becomes their shroud," Saroj says. "That's how we try to identify them."
In 2013, the Madhya Pradesh government launched the Antyeshti Sahayata Yojana - a scheme to provide Rs 3000 for the cremation of unclaimed or poor bodies. But it comes with a checklist: FIR, postmortem, death certificate, panchnama, and an application. On the ground, where bodies are being dragged to protect them from dogs, no one is filling any form. "If something wrong is happening, we'll investigate," says Police Commissioner Harinarayan Chari Mishra. "The Municipal Corporation gives money," he adds - though no one on the ground seems aware.
"There is no provision for unclaimed bodies," admits Bhopal's Municipal Commissioner Harendra Narayan. "Funds go to family members. Not for these." Collector Kaushalendra Vikram Singh says, "We had issued orders. If implementation is poor, we will fix it."
And Then, Even This Was Looted
In the middle of this devastation, one institution - Prerna Seva Trust - has been trying to restore a sliver of dignity. For over 30 years, they've been providing free food and shrouds for unclaimed bodies. Every day, 14-15 people take these shrouds. But NDTV uncovered that even this act of kindness has been exploited. People have been taking free shrouds and selling them in the market for Rs 1000-1500. "Someone told us," says Rashmi Bawa, the Trust's president. "That hospital staff were taking these and selling them. We were shattered. That's why we started asking names and phone numbers."
Not a Funeral. An Insult.
For ten days, NDTV watched this cycle. This is not a graveyard. Not a crematorium. It is a jungle of forgotten deaths - where not just bodies, but humanity, is buried each day. "This is not a final farewell, "It is a system-wide insult."
The law says Rs 3000. The system works for Rs 300 - or not at all. And in between, some policemen pull from their wallets, some workers bury the dead with tears in their eyes, and others walk away - not because they're heartless, but because they're helpless.
Perhaps that unclaimed corpse was once a child cradled by a mother. Maybe a sister kissed his forehead on Raksha Bandhan. Now, he is tied in cloth, being dragged into a ditch. There is no one left for him. And maybe, no one was left who even wanted to know who he was.
Member of Parliament from Bhopal Alok Sharma, when shown NDTV's footage, said: "I've seen it too - dogs eating dead bodies. I will visit the site myself.".
These stories are not just about death. They're about silence. About what happens when society stops seeing, and the system stops caring. These are not just bodies. They are questions - Buried, ignored, and growing. Who were they? Why did we fail them? And why are we all so quiet?
