Bhote Koshi-Trishuli Flood: Tattoos Play Key Role in Identifying Bodies Drifted into India

One body swept away in the floodwaters of the Bhote Koshi-Trishuli rivers near the border of Nuwakot and Rasuwa districts has been identified in India, far from Nepal, according to police and family sources.

Dasharath Dangol, a resident of Thakre in Dhading, was last seen on the morning of Bhadra 10 (September 26) when his brother Harihar Dangol accompanied him to the bus stop at Dharke Bazaar near Rasuwagadhi around 7:30 am. Dasharath was a driver of a ‘low bed truck’ and was heading to collect a vehicle in Rasuwagadhi.

He boarded a vehicle from Kathmandu bound for Timure, but went missing within a few hours.

Harihar is uncertain whether Dasharath had crossed into Nuwakot district.

“We lost track of where exactly he had reached. His mobile network was only traceable up to Tupche. The vehicle might have been near the Trishuli-Betrawati region where the settlements were devastated,” Harihar recounted a month after the flood.

The family had given up hope after failing to locate Dasharath’s vehicle.

“I thought we wouldn’t find him. Even the vehicle might have sunk,” Harihar recalled.

Both the vehicle Dasharath boarded and the one he was headed to collect remain missing.

However, one week later, reports came to the family that Dasharath was identified by a tattoo on a body found in India, which was transported by ambulance to Lumbini Provincial Hospital.

“He had a tattoo on his right arm that read ‘Dasharath Janghe.’ The authorities presented the tattooed body to us, and we could directly recognize him,” Harihar stated.

According to police, 204 bodies were recovered in western Nawalparasi, with an additional 18 bodies found as far as about 50 kilometers into the West Champaran area of India from the border.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Madan Thapa of Nawalparasi Bardghat Susta West stated that tattoos played a significant role in identifying bodies that were handed over from the Indian side.

“Among the bodies transferred by the Indian authorities, one has been identified, while others have yet to be identified,” Thapa said.

In total, only ten bodies have been identified so far in western Nawalparasi, combining those recovered on both the Nepal and India sides.

Of these, tattoos on the bodies’ limbs greatly assisted in identifying four cases.

The body of 28-year-old Sabin Rana from Bhimfedi, Makwanpur, who worked as a driver at a hydropower project above Syaphru Bensi in Rasuwa, was also identified through tattoos after being found in western Nawalparasi on the fifth day after the flood, police said.

He had a tiger-lion-shaped tattoo on his left arm and another tattoo on his left palm reading ‘Love you Dad Mom’. Other body markings helped make the identification straightforward.

Rana was employed as a driver by the Chinese contractor Sino Hydro at the Rasuwagadhi Bhote Koshi Hydropower Project, which was in its early construction phase.

According to Khimlal Gautam, Chief Survey Officer at the Survey Department, the distance from Syaphru Bensi to the Gandak Barrage on the Nepal-India border in western Nawalparasi via the Trishuli/Narayani river is approximately 257 kilometers.

Police confirmed that some bodies drifted as far as 250 kilometers, and identification was only possible due to tattoos.

Assistant Spokesperson Deep Shamsher Jabara of the Police Headquarters explained that many bodies could only be identified by facial recognition, tattoos, and other distinct markings.

“DNA matching is underway to identify the remaining bodies,” he added.

Forensic expert Dr. Harihar Basti acknowledged that identifying bodies washed so far downstream using tattoos is rare.

Of the more than 5,000 people affected by the flood, only 1,454 bodies have been recovered, according to Shanti Mahat, spokesperson for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.

Of those, only 112 bodies have been identified, with the majority remaining unidentified.

The body of 38-year-old Rajkapur Gurau Tharu from Zirabhwani Rural Municipality, Parsa, was also identified through a tattoo on his hand.

Rajkapur worked at a crusher construction project in Mailung, Rasuwa. Despite family efforts to make contact, there was no response, prompting searches extending to Battar.

“We held hope he would return alive. If dead, identifying the body would be difficult, so I traveled to Nuwakot and informed relatives,” recalled his brother Suresh Prasad Gurau.

Rajkapur had a tattoo on his right arm reading ‘Rajkapur’.

“When the notification of a tattooed body was seen and investigated, it was initially believed to be in Narayangadh, but it wasn’t. Later, after reaching Parasi district, we identified the body which was partly decomposed. The tattoo ‘Rajkapur’ and his beard helped confirm the identity,” he stated.

The family received the body on the seventh day after the flood, by which time it was in a state of decomposition.

Similarly, Shankhabuddha Tamang, who ran a hotel in Betrawati, Kavre, was identified through a ring found on the hand of his body. The body, found in western Nawalparasi after drifting from Betrawati, was only in a condition where the face was barely recognizable, his brother Karmadhoj Tamang added.

Forensic specialist Dr. Basti explained, “Bodies submerged in water during the flood begin to decompose within 24 hours due to heat. As the flesh decays, the bodies no longer look like living people. However, tattoos penetrate the dermis or inner skin layer, so they remain visible even after the outer skin has decayed.”

He noted that relying solely on tattoos for identification carries risks, but since named tattoos are less common, they can assist identification when combined with other evidence.

Over 5,000 people were affected by the Bhote Koshi-Trishuli flood spanning from Nepal’s China border to Dhading, with 5,285 still missing. The government is collecting DNA samples of unidentified bodies to secure them for future exhumation.

So far, more than 1,300 body samples and over 2,000 samples from relatives have been collected and are undergoing DNA testing.