‘Screams, sudden death’: 16-year-old girl’s body exhumed 52 days after burial in UP

ALIGARH: The body of a 16-year-old girl was exhumed from a grave in Aligarh on Saturday, 52 days after she was buried, after suspicions were raised over the circumstances of her death, news agency PTI said on Saturday.The exhumation was carried out at Shah Jamal graveyard under the Kotwali police station area in the presence of City Magistrate Atul Gupta, police personnel and other district officials. The action was taken after the district administration ordered a fresh investigation following a complaint. According to officials, the complaint was filed by local resident Dularay Khan, who claimed that while returning from a nearby mosque on the morning of June 8, he heard screams coming from a house in the Shah Jamal locality. Khan alleged that he knocked on the door but received no response. The following day, he learnt from neighbours that a teenage girl living in the house had died suddenly and had been buried before sunrise in the presence of her family. He further alleged that although he informed the local police about the incident, no action was taken. Khan also claimed that he later received death threats for pursuing the matter. Following his complaint to District Magistrate Avinash Kumar and senior police officials, the district administration ordered the girl’s body to be exhumed. City Magistrate Atul Gupta said the body was exhumed after all the required legal formalities were completed and was sent for a post-mortem examination. He added that police have launched a detailed investigation based on the fresh evidence.