CHENNAI: For those who thought there is solace in death, the smuggling of a 20-year-old girl’s body from the Mylapore Corporation burial ground by a sorcerer came as a rude shock. But it doesn’t appear particularly hard to steal a corpse, especially if one has a few officials on their side, just like the sorcerer allegedly did.
The girl, Abirami, was a resident of Teynampet and had allegedly committed suicide in January, 2017. She was buried after the post mortem examination was conducted, in the Kailasapuram burial ground, according to the police. Two officials working at the Kailasapuram burial ground were allegedly bribed by the black magic practitioner to give him the young woman’s body. These men have been arrested by the police in connection with the case.
The complete lack of tight security or even basic security in some places, makes it easy for those indulging in this trade to acquire bodies. And how many burial grounds have surveillance cameras? A corporation official said the data was not immediately available.
There are 206 burial grounds in the greater Chennai Corporation limits. Of these, only around 88, which is less than half, are functional, according to Corporation numbers. The girl’s body was exhumed from the Mylapore burial ground, a functional one.
Though there were are a couple of guards at the entrance to the Mylapore burial ground when Express visited the spot, there was no serious checking. However, it was among the few burial grounds that has some kind of security in place. Others, like the one in Kotturpuram, had no security. Children, who gathered at the burial ground to play cricket, were the only ones who questioned anyone who entered unwarranted.
There are, however, people in-charge of the upkeep and proceedings in burial grounds. But they were either not present at the location at the time of the visit or were taking a nap, as one of the assistants at one of the crematoriums in South Chennai said. The general procedure for unnatural deaths, like suicide in this case, is to submit a copy of the FIR and the death report to the caretaker, who usually has two assistants under him. According to a corporation official, most of these non-functional crematoriums lie in the extended areas of the Chennai Corporation. For instance in Manali alone, there were 21 small and unused crematoriums. This leaves the smaller crematoriums that are classified as ‘unused’ as storehouses of bones.
A doctor, on condition of anonymity, said that a skeleton can be legally procured only from the Madras Medical College where it costs about `4,000, and is generally used by medical colleges to teach students. The other way to get hold of a skeleton or parts of it, without having to show proof of identity, is to approach a grave-digger.
Another assistant professor in a medical college said that nearly two decades ago, a synthetic skull alone cost `3,000. Though this may be the first such instance that has come to light, it may not be the last. However, corporation officials sought to view it as an isolated incident, saying even medical students these days use synthetic skeletons for learning.