By Alishba I. Kassim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

ALIGARH, India – Nearly 100 human skulls were found in a dried up pond in the Northern Indian city of Aligarh. The remains belonged to people whose bodies the police were unable to identify.

The discovery was made by children playing in the pond after it had dried up. The children located several skulls, after which police officials were notified. Police officials recovered approximately 98 more skulls alongside other bones and human remains. The bodies appear to have been there for at least a decade.

Local officials commented that the bodies most likely belonged to victims of road accidents, inconclusive shootings, and the like, and the police disposed off the bodies in the pond in order to avoid having to organize cremations. Aligarh city police chief, Maan Singh Chauhan, said he suspected this had been going on for two decades and many junior-rank officials could be responsible.

Several human rights groups in India are appalled at this recent discovery and have accused the police of being callous. A senior official of the Uttar Pradesh State Human Rights Organization, Asish Shukla, said “even dead bodies deserve honorable cremation after post mortem…It seems the dead bodies were just thrown in the pond, denying them the respect they deserve.”

In a region that is known to house rampant human rights violations where even the living are often accorded no respect, it comes as no surprise that the dead are treated the same.

For more information, please see:

CNN – 100 Skulls Found in Indian Pond – 25 May 2009

AOL News – Skulls Found in India – 25 May 2009

ABC News – 100 Human Skulls Found in India – 25 May 2009