Bodies of the six victims of the Metikurke bus accident were buried with full honours at government cemetery situated adjacent to the Harischandra Ghat in Hiriyur town on Monday.
According to the police sources, with the DNA report getting delayed, the bodies started decomposing, forcing the authorities to take steps to bury the bodies.
Prayers and rituals were performed before the burial. Hiriyur DySP Dr Shekhar, inspector Sudarshan and Hiriyur police team took utmost care while burying the bodies.
It may be recalled six people died on the spot and 23 others sustained injuries on Wednesday when a private bus in which they were travelling caught fire near Metikurke village on Pune-Bangalore Express way.
Though there was an initial resistance from the relatives of the victims, the police were successful in convincing them and went ahead with the burial.
Earlier the relatives of the victims had blocked the Pune-Bangalore Expressway in front of the Hiriyur rural police station protesting the common funeral and demanded the police to hand over the bodies to them.
They relented after the police assured that the bodies would be exhumed and handed over to the relatives based on the DNA report.
At the burial ground, floral tributes were offered to the dead. A moulvi, Hindu priest and a Christian priest were chanting prayers for the dead during the burial.
The bodies were kept at Basaveshwara Hospital and Medical College Chitradurga morgue.