A 40-year-old missing man was cremated as an unidentified person on September 20 by police four days after the discovery of his body from a Greater Noida drain in Techzone 4, an officer said on Wednesday.

Police said they carried out the cremation in accordance with legal procedure. (Sunil Ghosh / Hindustan Times) (Representative Image)

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Police identified the deceased as Prashant Sharma, a resident of Garhi Chaukhandi near Sector 68. He went missing on the night of September 16, found in the drain on September 17 and cremated on September 20.

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To be sure, the police received no missing persons complaint until September 20. Sharma’s family approached the police on September 21.

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Police said they carried out the cremation in accordance with legal procedure. The officer said police can cremate a body 72 hours after the discovery if no missing persons complaint is received. “As his family members did not approach the police for four days, the Greater Noida police had no information available to cross-check with other police stations,” said Diksha Singh, assistant commissioner of police, Central Noida.