The body of a missing passenger of the Coromandel Express that was involved in a triple-train crash in Odisha on June 2 has been identified through a DNA match and handed to his father, 50 days after the tragedy.
The mutilated remains of Abbachuddin Seikh, 20, a resident of a village in the Kakdwip block of South 24-Parganas, was handed to father Ebadall Seikh by the Odisha government on Sunday afternoon.
Abbachuddin’s body was brought back home to Madhusudanpur 64 Bari, Ramtanunagar village early on Monday. A post-mortem was conducted and the body was buried on Monday evening.
Ebadall said the body of the 20-year-old was beyond recognition as it had been charred. According to officials, the DNA sample given by Ebadall after the accident matched the sample taken from the body.
The family has been assured by the railways of a compensation of Rs 10 lakh. The state government will pay them another Rs 5 lakh. One of Abbachuddin’s nearest relatives will get the job of a home guard, officials in the district administration said.
Three other men from the same village, who were on the train, are still missing.
Abbachuddin was among 23 people from villages in Kakdwip who were travelling by the Coromandel Express that day, on their way to Chennai to work at construction sites.
Nine from the block died in the crash. Three are still missing and the rest recuperating from their injuries.
The crash in Odisha’s Balasore — involving the Coromandel Express, Bangalore-Howrah Express and a goods train — left 292 dead and over 1,000 injured.
“Someone from the Odisha government called me on Thursday and said my son’s body had been identified through DNA matching. We went to the block development officer of Kakdwip on Friday and he asked us to leave for Bhubaneswar immediately,” Ebadall said on Monday.
The BDO, Wrick Goswami, had arranged for a vehicle for Ebadall and two others to go to Bhubaneswar. The body was in the morgue of AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, said officials.
“We reached Bhubaneswar on Saturday and got the body on Sunday afternoon,” said a relative who accompanied Ebadall to Bhubaneswar. The body was brought back in an ambulance.
They were apprehensive because earlier this month, the family had received a call about a possible identification of Abbachuddin’s body. The Telegraph reported that after reaching Bhubaneswar and waiting for a couple of days, the family members were told that the body was of someone else.
“This time, the authorities confirmed that it was Abbachuddin’s body,” said the relative.
“Abba, stay well. Pray that I do good in Chennai,” these were the last words that Abbachuddin had told his father before leaving home.
Ebadall has a younger son, who is a special child.
The three from Kakdwip who are still missing are Samsul Huda Seikh, Sajjad Seikh and Jamal Seikh.
“After hearing about the DNA match of Abbachuddin, I called the helpline in Odisha. They have given me another number. I tried it several times but no one answered,” said Nurul Huda Seikh, Samsul’s brother.
He has been to Bhubaneswar several times in search of his missing brother.
“There is no other way but to wait for a DNA match,”said an official in the South 24-Parganas district administration.