Mumbai: The three men who were arrested on Tuesday by the Deonar police on charges of trespassing in a graveyard and digging up and selling bones were remanded in judicial custody by a metropolitan magistrate’s court in Kurla on Wednesday.

The arrested trio was identified as Ladle Mobin, 45, Mohammed Ismail, 35, and Hazrat Ali, 45.

According to an eyewitness, Aslam Shaikh, who is also the complainant in the case, he saw two of the three men collecting human bones in two separate bags and fleeing from the spot. I don’t know whether human bones have any medicinal value.

A senior officer from the Deonar police station, who asked not to be identified, said, “We are investigating the background of the arrested persons. We suspect that they were working for some medical practitioners. The trio apparently frequented the grave for the past one year.”

Doctors in the city said human skeletons are in demand for research and educational purposes in medical colleges. Some of them said human bones are also in demand in the organic chemical industry.

“Human bones are in great demand in private medical colleges,” said forensic expert SC Mohite. “After a body decomposes, the bones are usually given to students for research purposes. A single skeleton costs anywhere between Rs20,000 and Rs40,000. Possibly, some students are opting for this to save money.”

Source : DNA