While passing the order for exhumation, the high court said that a second post-mortem is “vital and necessary for arriving at the truth.” (Representative image)
During a recent hearing, the Calcutta High Court asserted that the investigation officer will coordinate with the Assam police and ensure that the mortal remains are exhumed properly and brought to Kolkata for a fresh autopsy
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur student Faizan Ahmed’s body was exhumed seven months after it was buried at a cemetery in Assam’s Dibrugarh city. His mortal remains were dug up by a West Bengal police team with the family’s consent after Calcutta High Court ordered a second post-mortem.
The court judgement came after several loopholes were pointed out in the first autopsy by a court-appointed expert. Faizan Ahmed, a 23-year-old student was found dead in his hostel room on October 14, 2022. He was a third-year mechanical engineering student. His college authorities claimed it was a case of suicide but the family had alleged that he was murdered. Faizan’s family also accused the concerned authorities at IIT Kharagpur of turning a deaf ear to Faizan’s complaints about excessive ragging in the hostel.
During a recent hearing, the Calcutta High Court asserted that the investigation officer will coordinate with the Assam police and ensure that the mortal remains are exhumed properly and brought to Kolkata for a fresh autopsy. While passing the order for exhumation, the high court said that a second post-mortem is “vital and necessary for arriving at the truth.”
Meanwhile, officials in Dibrugarh informed that the body will be flown to Kolkata on Wednesday. “The body of the victim has been buried as per Muslim rites at Assam. The body of the victim Faizan Ahmed is ordered to be exhumed,” Justice Rajasekhar Mantha said, as per an NDTV report.
The exhumation at Dibrugarh’s Amolapatty burial ground was supervised by a four-member Bengal police team, forensic experts from Dibrugarh’s Assam Medical College and Hospital (AMCH) and the Directorate of Forensic Science in Guwahati, along with a magistrate reports state. Local police stood guard and Faizan’s family members were also present there. The mortal remains were carefully put in a coffin and taken to the mortuary of AMCH.
The West Bengal police team will fly down to Kolkata with the coffin, where a second post-mortem will be conducted in accordance with the Calcutta High Court order at the Medical College and Hospital.
Faizan’s mother Rehana, who was at the site during exhumation, told The Indian Express that the second autopsy report might bring the family “peace” and “justice.” “There has been no peace since he died; I have not slept in all these months…No mother hopes for a day like this, but this is something we have to do for justice for him…. Hopefully, we will know the truth, and this is one step towards that,” she was quoted as saying by the publication. When the process of exhumation was taking place, a few officials from IIT Kharagpur, including registrar Tamal Nath was also present there, as per reports.
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