Read Time: 07 minutes

Synopsis

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday directed the exhumation and second post-mortem of  IIT Kharagpur student Faizan Ahmed, a mechanical engineering student who hailed from Tinsukia in Assam. His dead body was found in his hostel room on October 14, 2022. His body had been buried at his home town in Assam according to Muslim rites.

The Single Judge bench of Justice Rajasekhar Mantha ordered the investigation officer to coordinate with the Assam Police to ensure that the deceased's body and/or remains are exhumed and are brought to Kolkata from Dibrugarh in Assam, for a second post-mortem.

Further, the bench directed Medical College and Hospital at College Street, Kolkata to conduct the second post-mortem.

“The investigating officer in the matter shall coordinate with the Assam Police and ensure that the body and/or remains are exhumed, brought to Kolkata by the State Police and a fresh post-mortem is conducted. It is expected that due care and caution are exercised while exhuming the body. The local courts in Assam are requested to kindly extend cooperation,” the court said.

Justice Mantha also directed that a forensic expert be present in Assam at the body's exhumation. The investigating officer would work with the Assam police, court ordered.

The father of the deceased requested the court for the formation of a special investigation team (SIT) to look into his death. On October 14, 2022, Ahmed's body was discovered in his hostel room at IIT Kharagpur in West Bengal's Paschim Medinipur region.

The present court had appointed Dr Ajoy Kumar Gupta as the forensic expert. According to his preliminary report, the post-mortem had already been conducted by the police, and he reached three preliminary conclusions-

1. That there were two visible injury marks medically called 'Haematomas' on the back of the head of the victim but the original post-mortem report did not mention the same.
2. There were certain cut marks on the arms of the victim which according to the expert were inflicted after death.
3. Sandip Kumar Bhattacharya, Amicus Curiae for Dr. Gupta had also placed a seizure report before the police dated November 17, 2022, which indicated that a chemical called Emplura (sodium nitrate) in a bottle had been seized from the scene of the crime which is a yellowish powder used to preserve meat.

Bhattacharya also submitted that Dr Gupta found some yellowish residue in a bucket during his visit to the hostel room.

He further submitted that as a body decomposes, it is impossible that fellow hostel inmates would not be able to detect it. He also stated that for three days there was no smell from the body. The presence of this substance Emplura (Sodium Nitrate) raises severe concerns about the victim's death time and whether it had been used to preserve the body after death, he submitted.

After this, the court ordered to conduct a second post-mortem within a period of one month.

Further, the court said that the second post-mortem may be conducted by Dr Gupta in the presence of earlier post-mortem doctors and anybody that the State may nominate from their side.

The bench listed the matter on June 13, 2023 for further hearing.

Case Title: Salim Ahmed ad Ar. vs. State of West Bengal & Ors.