Over Two Dozen Unclaimed Bodies Cremated in Jammu in Six Months

SRINAGAR: At least 25 unclaimed bodies have been cremated in Jammu during the last six months after remaining unidentified despite police efforts to trace their families, Daily Excelsior has reported. Most of these bodies were recovered from different areas and brought to the Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu for medico-legal examination before being cremated at the Jogi Gate crematorium.

According to the report, a recent ‘Look Out Notice’ from District Police Headquarters Jammu, published on October 5, 2025, carried a photograph of an elderly man whose body had been found on the banks of the Chenab River in Akhnoor on September 29. “None turned up after which, as per the set norm Police waited for 72 hours and then sent the body for medico-legal post-mortem at Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu, following which it was cremated at Jogi Gate—the oldest crematorium in Jammu and Kashmir,” the newspaper quoted officials as saying.

Reliable sources at GMC Jammu told Daily Excelsior that “every month they receive about 3–4 such unidentified bodies of medico-legal cases brought by cops and about 25 medico-legal post-mortems were conducted on such unclaimed bodies in the last 6 months alone.”

A senior police officer informed the newspaper that “most of the unidentified bodies remain those of runaway persons, beggars, some of whom died in road accidents.” He added that in some cases, “the ‘Look Out Notice’ by Police yields positive results and some claimant of the dead body comes and takes away the body after fulfilling certain formalities,” but when no one responds even after 72 hours, “the dead body is sent for post-mortem after which it is cremated.”

Another police source said, “Sometimes deteriorated bodies are found where identification becomes extremely tough and such bodies remain unidentified if identity is not established even from the clothes or other belongings recovered from the body.”

The report quoted sources at the Jogi Gate crematorium as saying that “so far, a number of unclaimed bodies brought by the cops have been cremated there.” They added, “After cremating such unclaimed bodies, we collect their ashes in bags and put the name of the Police Stations from where these were brought on such bags. Sometimes, even after cremation, relatives of the deceased persons visit the concerned Police Station for the body of their loved ones and are then directed to the crematorium to collect the ashes.”

The newspaper reported that in cases where no one turns up even after cremation, “the same ashes are immersed by the authorities of Jogi Gate crematorium in Chenab River at Akhnoor after some 60–70 ashes from such bodies are collected.”

Sources at GMC Jammu further informed that once the 72-hour waiting period ends without any claimant, “Police starts inquest and the hospital is given circumstantial evidence by the cops after which medico-legal autopsy is conducted on the body and the findings are sent to Forensic Science Laboratory and also to Histopathological Lab.”

According to Daily Excelsior, police maintain DNA samples for record purposes and in certain hospital deaths involving unidentified persons, bodies may be sent for study in medical colleges after fulfilling prescribed norms if the body remains suitable for academic use.