Goa:
A family member of Elena, the Russian girl who was found dead on the railway tracks in Goa in May this year, has failed to identify the body as it is in a "highly decomposed state lying in the mortuary of the government hospital".
"The entire face was decomposed with fungus all over the body. This seems to be the fallout of inadequate facilities with the morgue," Vikram Varma, lawyer representing Elena Sukhanova's family, told PTI this afternoon.
Elena, 19, was found dead on the railway track at Thivim railway station on May 7. Her brother-in-law Dimitiry Voronova is down in the state to identify and bury the corpse, which has been lying for almost six months now at Goa Medical College and Hospital's (GMCH) morgue near here.
"Voronova visited the morgue on Tuesday evening and tried to identify the body. However, level of decomposition was so high that facial recognition is impossible," Varma said.
The family members now say that they have no other option than to rely on DNA test to confirm her identity. They have also decided to petition state police chief B S Bassi demanding a thorough inquiry into Elena's death.
GMCH authorities, however, has refused to take the onus of failure to preserve the body. "It's not a morgue failure. Earlier when body was brought to the morgue it was in bad shape as it was mangled on railway track," Dr E J Rodrigues, associate professor with GMCH's forensic medicine department said.
"The entire face was decomposed with fungus all over the body. This seems to be the fallout of inadequate facilities with the morgue," Vikram Varma, lawyer representing Elena Sukhanova's family, told PTI this afternoon.
Elena, 19, was found dead on the railway track at Thivim railway station on May 7. Her brother-in-law Dimitiry Voronova is down in the state to identify and bury the corpse, which has been lying for almost six months now at Goa Medical College and Hospital's (GMCH) morgue near here.
"Voronova visited the morgue on Tuesday evening and tried to identify the body. However, level of decomposition was so high that facial recognition is impossible," Varma said.
The family members now say that they have no other option than to rely on DNA test to confirm her identity. They have also decided to petition state police chief B S Bassi demanding a thorough inquiry into Elena's death.
GMCH authorities, however, has refused to take the onus of failure to preserve the body. "It's not a morgue failure. Earlier when body was brought to the morgue it was in bad shape as it was mangled on railway track," Dr E J Rodrigues, associate professor with GMCH's forensic medicine department said.
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