The Haryana government on Friday said it will investigate whether the Dera Sacha Sauda had followed “legal formalities” before donating 14 cadavers to a private medical institute in Uttar Pradesh in 2016. The bodies were allegedly donated without death certificates, The Indian Express reported.
“The reason for sending the bodies must be ascertained,” State Health Minister Anil Vij said, adding that that Haryana’s director-genera of health services had been asked to conduct a “thorough inquiry”. “Orders have been issued to examine the matter and find out the facts.”
The news of this fresh investigation against the Dera comes on the day the sect’s headquarters in Sirsa, Haryana, was searched and sanitised. A luxury car without a registration plate, demonetised currency notes, plastic money, a few computers, hard disks and cash were seized. Two minor boys were also found inside the premises.
The 14 cadavers were supplied to the GCRG Institute of Medical Sciences in Lucknow between January 1 and August 31.
Officials at the medical college admitted that the bodies were sent without death certificates. However, they claimed to have ID proofs and other documents to validate the donations.
“We have photocopies of Aadhaar cards and ID proof of not only those who died but also of those who handed over the cadavers, along with affidavits on stamp papers from the families, with photographs and contact numbers,” Luxmi Kant Pandey, manager of marketing and public relations at the institute, told The Indian Express. “The institute has also kept copies of ambulance receipts for each corpse.”
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