The National Human Rights Commission has sought a report from Uttar Pradesh authorities after police in Agra cremated a man’s body without his family present, triggering accusations of human rights violations. NHRC said on Friday that it had taken suo motu cognisance of media reports that a man found dead in a train compartment was cremated by the Government Railway Police (GRP) after his family failed to arrive from Giridih, Jharkhand, in time.
According to the media report, carried on 14th August, the family claimed that the police called and informed them about the death and gave them one day to collect the body before it was sent for post-mortem and cremated locally.
But they did not have enough money to go there. Still, two men tried to go to Agra but lost their way while changing trains at Dhanbad and came back. The family of the deceased is reportedly asking why the body of the deceased could not be sent to Jharkhand. Reportedly, the GRP claimed that the force had asked someone in the family to come down to identify the body, even promising to arrange and pay for their return travel to Agra, but they declined.
“The contents of the news report, if true, raise serious issues of violation of human rights,” the NHRC said in a statement, citing its 2021 advisory on protecting the dignity of the dead. The commission emphasised that Article 21 of India’s Constitution guarantees fair treatment and dignity not only to the living but also to the deceased.
The NHRC issued notices to the Uttar Pradesh chief secretary and the state’s director general of police, directing them to submit a detailed report within two weeks.
 after his family failed to arrive from Giridih, Jharkhand, in time.){kind=link}