Day after Ghazipur, 12 bodies found in the Ganga in Ballia

“There is no exact number for the bodies. They were cremated as they were found, and they could not be identified,” Ballia Superintendent of Police Vipin Tada said.

District Magistrate Aditi Singh also did not confirm the number of bodies found and said “some were found on Monday”.

A senior official, however, told The Indian Express that at least 12 bodies were found floating in the river in the district.

Asked if samples were collected from the bodies for Covid testing, and whether postmortem was conducted, Ballia SP said, “If they were Covid patients, then they would have been hospitalised. They weren’t. The postmortem could not be done as the bodies were bloated and old. They were in no condition for postmortem. Some of them were half burnt too.”