India, May 12 -- Fire brigade officials who rushed to douse flames in an isolated patch of dry vegetation in Vasai West on Monday were in for a startling surprise after the blaze exposed human skeletal remains hidden in the bushes near the railway tracks in Manikpur.

According to the police, the skeleton came to light after a fire broke out in the dried vegetation, burning away the shrubbery and exposing the remains. Officials recovered a skull and leg bones from the spot. Investigators suspect the body had decomposed over time and reduced to a skeleton before the remains were partially scorched in the fire.

Police officials said it was difficult to immediately ascertain whether the remains belonged to a man or a woman, or whether the d...