VK Singh
VK Singh will bring back the bodies of the 39 Indians on Monday.IANS

The mortal remains of the 38 Indians killed in Mosul reached India on Monday afternoon. The minister of state for external affairs, general VK Singh (retired) had left for Iraq on Sunday afternoon to get back the dead bodies.

Here are a few quick facts about how India is preparing to receive the bodies:

  • According to the autopsy reports, the Indians were killed more than a year ago.
    "Forensic examination reveal some of our men were shot dead... in few of the cases, the forensic examinations could not give exact cause of death... forensic examination findings are also not conclusive of the time when they were killed," VK Singh told Indian Express.
  • The kin of the deceased are also being given the forensic reports of the victims. 
  • In response to the request of the families of the victims, who have demanded jobs, Singh said that his ministry will review the matter.
  • The families of the deceased people have demanded that they should be allowed to open the coffins at the airport. However, the district administration has refused permission. Amritsar Deputy Commissioner Kamaldeep Singh Sangha did not grant permission due to time constraints. Sangha said that each of the coffins will depart from the airport within seven minutes. "Thus, families can not be allowed to open with the coffins there," Indian Express quoted Sangha as saying.
  • The bodies were brought back in the C17 Globemaster.
  • As 27 of the deceased Indians are natives of Punjab and four hail from Himachal Pradesh, the bodies has been brought to Amritsar. The mortal remains of the other victims will be sent to their respective states.
  • Singh has got back only 38 bodies as the DNA of the last body is still being examined. 
  • "All necessary arrangements have been made to transport the mortal remains of 31 Indians killed in Iraq, who hail from different places in Punjab and Himachal, to their native places when the bodies reach tomorrow," PTI quoted Amritsar Deputy Commissioner Kamaldeep Singh Sangha said Monday.
  • Sangha also added that according to the information they have received, the bodies are expected to reach the international airport in Amritsar at around 1:30 pm Monday.
  • Singh will first go to Amritsar to hand over the bodies of the deceased Indians to their families. The 29 Indians from Punjab belong to Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala and Jalandhar.
  • He will then go to Patna and Kolkata to personally hand over the bodies of the other victims to their kin.
  • The director of the Amritsar international airport, officials of the customs, immigration, Central Industrial Security Force, police, Indian Air Force officials and other members of the bureau of civil aviation held a meeting Sunday to ensure a smooth progress of the handing over of the bodies.
  • Sangha said that respective district administrations have arranged for ambulances and other vehicles to transport the coffins to the native places. He also assured that authorities in Amritsar will provide assistance as well.
  • "As it is a sombre occasion and to ensure that no inconvenience is caused to the grieving relatives, we have made arrangements so that there is no chaos at the airport. The bodies will be brought out from a different exit passage," the DC added.
  • Meanwhile, a kin of one of the deceased Indian said that she hopes that the Indian government provides employment to the family of the ISIS-slain people.
Swaraj-Jadhav
Sushma Swaraj confirmed the death of the 39 Indians on March 20.Twitter

On March 20, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj had announced in the Rajya Sabha that all the 39 Indians, who were missing in Iraq since 2014, had been killed by the terrorists of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Their mortal remains were found in Mosul's Badush village, following which their DNA's were matched. Swaraj has been facing criticism from the opposition parties in India for giving "false hope" to the families of the victims.

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