Will erring officials be charged for 2013 deluge?

NAINITAL: The Uttarakhand high court on Tuesday accepted a supplementary affidavit demanding that the officials who did not ensure proper last rites of those killed in 2013 deluge must be tried for causing death by negligence. The affidavit, which was filed by Delhi-based Ajay Gautam, also asked for a special committee to identify the erring officials. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for April 7.
In June 2014, Gautam had filed a PIL in the court stating that the bodies of flash flood victims were lying in decomposed state and that government officials did not ensure that last rites were performed.
The divisional bench of Chief Justice K M Joseph and Justice V K Bisht attended the petition and accepted the supplementary affidavit from the petitioner. “The officials responsible for such a huge loss should be brought to justice. In our democratic country, people deserve their last rites,” said Ajay Gautam.
Earlier, while hearing the PIL, the high court had ordered the DNA profiling of the bodies so that the deceased could be identified. The PIL stated that the government is lagging behind in relief operations, including tracking the missing people. It also stated that the officers responsible for such negligence should be punished.
The petitioner told TOI that the state government also neglected the report of Glacier Expert Committee in 2006.