A decomposed body was recovered from the Ganga in Malda on Wednesday, prompting chief minister Mamata Banerjee to mention it at a news meet in Nabanna and refer to bodies in Uttar Pradesh floating downstream amid the pandemic.
“Bodies (of Covid patients) were floated in the Ganga in Uttar Pradesh. Those are flowing downstream…..and even today (Wednesday), a body has been recovered in Manikchak (Malda district). So far, seven such bodies were found floating in the river (five in Malda and two in Murshidabad). We don’t know how many more bodies have gone untraced and have floated further downstream,” said Mamata.
Political observers said that Mamata, by referring to Uttar Pradesh, tried to highlight the Covid mismanagement of the BJP-ruled state in comparison with Bengal.
Mamata’s reference to the floating bodies was part of a strategy to drive home the point that in Bengal, her government was managing the Covid situation better than in BJP-ruled states, said an observer. Her statement came a day after BJP national party chief J.P. Nadda said Bengal was doing the worst in vaccination, without the numbers backing his claim.
During the news meet, the chief minister was also critical of the Narendra Modi government’s supply of vaccines to states. “The central government is acting in a biased manner. It is sending more vaccine doses to states like Uttar Pradesh and less to us,” she said.
Sources in Malda administration said that over the past seven-eight weeks, constant vigil is on the Ganga, especially in Malda’s Manikchak where the river enters Bengal from Jharkhand.
Police said that on Wednesday, some residents spotted the decomposed body floating in the Ganga at Jotepatta of Manikchak around 12.30pm. The body was recovered and sent for post-mortem while maintaining Covid protocol,” said Malda SP Alok Rajoria.
Since June 5, five bodies have been found floating in the Ganga in Malda district.
According to police sources, none could be identified as that of any resident of Malda district. “That’s why we suspect the bodies have come down from upstream,” said a police officer.
