According to District Magistrate Ravinder Kumar, the bodies were found buried in an area far from the river. "Our team has found buried bodies in an area far from the river. Search being conducted for more bodies in other areas. I have asked a team to carry out an inquiry. Action will be taken accordingly," the DM said.

Over the last two days, horrific scenes of dead bodies floating in the Ganga river in Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur and Bihar's Buxar caused panic among locals who feared that the bodies were of deceased COVID patients. According to Bihar Minister Sanjay Kumar Jha, 71 bodies were taken out from the river in Buxar district and their last rites performed and a net has been placed in the Ganga in Ranighat, bordering UP and Bihar, to stop any similar incident from happening again.

Local residents have complained of stench coming from the bloated, decomposed corpses and accused the authorities of ineptitude. These incidents have sparked fears about the scale of the Covid crisis in the country. Authorities believe the relatives of those who succumbed to the virus, may not have been able to find space for the last rites.

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