The villagers had identified three possible locations where the bodies of those killed in the massacre had allegedly been disposed of. Principal Civil Judge T S Brahmbhatt refused to grant the permission to exhume the bodies saying since the case is already before the Sessions court in July 2002, it cannot pass a new order on an already passed order. The court also asked for detailed clarification from the Umreth court registrar over its delay in sending the case to the Sessions court.

During the proceeding, assistant public prosecutor Pradeep Upadhyay argued that since the case falls under a Supreme Court stay (November 2003) that stalls any further trial of such cases, the permission of exhuming the bodies should not be granted, and that the applicants were wasting the court’s time.

The lawyers for the villagers pointed out that only trials had been stayed, not investigations and that they are only seeking a dignified burial for the dead.

In Ode, 27 people were brutally killed between March 1 and 3, 2002, and only two bodies were accorded a proper burial after their identification. The rest of them are deemed missing.