11 bodies and 4 skulls fished out from Bhakra canal, one identified as Punjab resident

11 bodies and four skulls were fished out from the Bhakra Nangal canal in Narwana, in Jind district of Haryana, here on Sunday.

The canal runs through Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and enters Haryana. A stretch of the canal passing through Narwana was closed for cleaning, and the incident came to light when a team of divers were cleaning the canal when the water level was low.

"A total of 11 bodies and four skulls have been fished out. The number could be more, as the process is still on. Out of 11, three are women. One of them has been identified, while the other bodies could not be identified yet as they are decomposed and mutilated," SP Shashank Anand said while talking to DNA.

A team of Punjab Police has also rushed to the spot. One of the bodies was identified to be that of a Patiala resident and was handed over to the police.

"The canal covers a long stretch in Punjab, passing through Anandpur Sahib, Patiala, so the bodies could be from Punjab. Since the condition of bodies is bad and some are even mutilated, it will take time to identify them. DNA testing can be done," said an official from the Punjab Police.

There have been several accidents of people drowning in the canal which passes through a long stretch from Himachal Pradesh to Haryana via Punjab. According to police, the bodies could have been washed along the canal from different parts of Punjab.

The bodies were kept in the a government hospital in Narwana.