Police to exhume unidentified body for scientific probe

Kannur: Police are likely to open the grave at the cemetery of Infant Jesus Church, Vaniyappara, near Iritty in Kannur on Wednesday, to conduct scientific examination of the unidentified human body which was found wrapped in a mat in the grave.

The investigation team received revenue divisional officer’s (RDO) permission for the procedure.A meeting was held in Kannur to discuss the case and further investigation. It was also decided that Kozhikode and Kannur rural police chiefs would jointly supervise the probe.After initial probe, Karikkottakary police ruled out any mystery in the incident. But, police were forced to initiate a detailed investigation after church authorities demanded a scientific probe.Police’s preliminary investigation found that the bodies in the grave were buried in 2006 and 2015. It was suspected that a missing man from Vilangad in Kozhikode was buried in the same grave and the confusion on the bodies arose due to a change in tomb numbers during recent renovation, police said.However, church authorities and the family of the missing man were not satisfied with police’s findings. They sought a DNA test of the body to scientifically prove it.

Subsequently, police registered a case and sought RDO’s permission to open the grave for scientific examination.A special team will be formed to probe the case, said police sources.A human body, wrapped in a mat, was found inside the grave in mysterious circumstances on June 13. The incident came to light when a local resident posted a photo on social media. The body was found near another body in a coffin. Church authorities informed Karikkottakary police about the incident.Church authorities witnessed the incident when the grave was opened to conduct a burial of another person. One body was found interred in a coffin while the second body was wrapped in a mat in the same grave. Christian community doesn’t practise burial in a mat. Later, police held a preliminary probe and sealed the grave.