Wayanad: Four sets of parents belonging to different religions have staked claim to the body of a child who was killed in the devastating landslide at Mundakkai in Wayanad. Her mortal remains were found in River Chaliyar at Nilambur in Malappuram district. The body was so disfigured that no one could properly identify her when it was brought to Meppadi here from Nilambur. The grieving parents, who have lost their own children, claimed the body belonged to them and wanted to conduct the final rites as per their religion.

To make matters worse, one set of ‘relatives’ took the body to the burial ground of a masjid. Seeing this, the other sets of parents began wailing and their families complained to authorities their ‘daughter’ was taken away forcibly.

The hospital authorities had a tough time convincing the relatives that the body would be brought back. They admitted that the body was released to one set of parents by mistake. They said the body was one of the several mortal remains that were brought to Wayanad from Nilambur on Wednesday.

The hospital authorities sought the help of Kalpetta MLA T Siddique, who had intervened and directed the masjid authorities to stop the burial rituals, to defuse the tension. The district administration also intervened and top officials intervened and brought the body back to the Community Health Centre on Wednesday.

At the meeting of people’s representatives held in the presence of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday, Siddique brought the CM's attention to the issue and indicated the need to conduct DNA tests on bodies that have more than one claimant. Pinarayi Vijayan suggested faster DNA analysis in this case and directed officials to bring in a system to address such conflicts as there are many unidentified bodies.

So far, relatives have identified 98 bodies. Seventy-eight bodies are yet to be identified as there is either more than one claimant or no claimants as the body is beyond recognition. Meppadi panchayat president K Babu told Onmanorama that they have also approached the district administration to ensure a mechanism to conduct speedy DNA tests on the unidentified bodies.