Sitapur: In a shocking incident, more than 60 carcasses of cows reportedly emerged mysteriously in the Sarayan River of Uttar Pradesh’s Sitapur district within the past 72 hours. On Wednesday, after a day-long rescue operation by a team of 35 State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel who retrieved around 30 carcasses of cows and other cattle from the river, approximately half a dozen more carcasses resurfaced.

Residents of Nahwaiya village in Sitapur, who were the first to stumble upon the carcasses on Monday, quickly alerted the local police station about their discovery. However, due to poor lighting conditions and insufficient manpower, the operation faced delays on Monday. 

The carcasses were interred along the riverbanks after the postmortem, which was done after a seven-hour-long rescue operation. One veterinarian from the team said given the severe deterioration of the skin and organs, determining the cause of death remained a significant challenge. 

The UP government has formed a team to investigate the situation and has sought explanations from block-level officers.