A Wooden Box And 'Skeleton' Invite Police To Cleanliness Drive In Delhi

An artificial skeleton was found inside a wooden box during a cleanliness drive near Kali Mata Mandir on DDU Marg in central Delhi on Saturday, with a forensic examination confirming that it was made of artificial bones and not human remains, police said.

Police received information about the suspected skeleton-like material during a cleanliness drive by Delhi BJP and reached the spot, where they found the wooden box containing an old assembled skeletal structure.

No bloodstains or other apparently suspicious material were found on or around the box, the police said.

During a preliminary inquiry, it emerged that the material had been purchased as scrap from Government Boys Senior Secondary School on Mata Sundari Road, along with other old and broken articles.

The school principal told police that the institution had shifted to a new building in 2023 and the old and broken articles from the earlier building were disposed of as scrap in July 2026 during a cleanliness drive.

The forensic and crime teams examined the material at the spot. The preliminary assessment by the forensic expert indicated that the structure comprised artificial bones and was not human skeletal remains, the police said.

The structure could have been used for educational or study purposes, including in a school laboratory, they said.

The artificial skeleton was found inside a box of a scrap dealer, Mohammad Shakeel, near Kali temple, Delhi, BJP vice president Rajesh Bhatia said.

The police said there is no prima facie indication of any criminal offence in the matter.