Two bodies – 55 km apart – were fished out from the Ganga canal in western Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar during a desilting process. Both bodies were found inside two cars that were pulled out of the canal using cranes. The bodies washed up in the canal when the Ganga water flow was briefly stopped on Monday for desilting.
The first body shored up in the Ganga canal in the Ratanpuri police station area of Muzaffarnagar. A suspicious car was seen in the canal when the water level in the canal went down. When the police were informed about the car, it was brought out and upon searching, a highly decomposed body was found lying in the backseat. Dilshad Ansari, 27, who had been missing since January, was found in the backseat of the car, which sources say was borrowed from a friend. The man, a resident of Baghra area in Muzaffarnagar, was identified through his driving licence. Mr Ansari’s brother, Wajid Ansari, had filed a complaint earlier this year at the New Mandi police station soon after his brother went missing. Visuals from one spot showed a crane pulling out a black sedan from the canal. At another spot, the video showed a mangled white car and a posse of policemen around it.
The second body, of Harendra Dutt Atre, was found in the Sikheda area, 55 km away, from the spot where Mr Ansari’s body was found. Mr Atre had been missing since February. A missing person’s complaint was lodged by the family in Kotwali.
