Faizan Ahmed Case: Court Rules Death as 'Homicide' After Second Autopsy Report

GUWAHATI: In a startling disclosure, following a second post-mortem of Assam- based IIT Kharagpur student Faizan Ahmed’s body, it was revealed that an injury on the back of his head could have resulted in his death.

The conclusion is that the injury is not self-inflicted but the result of an attack and homicide has been suspected. The forensic expert’s report says that the death is ‘homicidal in nature’, implying murder to be the cause of Faizan’s death.

Faizan’s bodily remains were exhumed from a graveyard in Dibrugarh and taken to Kolkata for a second post- mortem, after Calcutta High Court ordered the examination.

Calcutta High Court said it was surprised that the injury marks on the back of his head was missed during the first autopsy. The court had ordered exhumation and second post-mortem of Faizan Ahmed’s body.

The father of the third-year student at IIT- Kharagpur had moved the high court pleading for a special investigation team (SIT) to be formed, to probe the cause of his son’s death. The dead body of Faizan Ahmed was discovered in his hostel room on October 14, 2022.

The forensic expert entrusted with conducting the second post-mortem on May 27 said in his report, "23-year-old Faizan's death was due to profuse bleeding causing hemorrhagic shock and combined effect infused over chest and over head. Manner of death of Faizan was ante mortem injuries. Homicidal in nature.”

Justice Rajasekhar Mantha on Tuesday expressed surprise at the fact that the first post-mortem had missed out on this vital aspect. The high court judge ordered an inquiry by the director of Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory (CFSL), Rajarhat, to determine the circumstances that led to the omission of this fact.

The court observed that "there are serious questions that need to be addressed by police and the IO (investigating officer)," and said the matter is now set to become a probable murder investigation.

In his order, Justice Mantha directed the IO to add additional sections to the FIR as required and include other suspected persons as accused. The IO has been asked to report on the next date of hearing, which was fixed on June 14.

Kolkata Police was also directed by the court to arrange for again transporting the body of Faizan back to his hometown in Assam’s Dibrugarh, and to hand it over for final rites to the family members.

Earlier on April 25, Justice Mantha had directed court-appointed forensic expert Dr Ajoy Kumar Gupta, to deliver his opinion on the likely cause leading to Faizan's death, and to conduct the second post-mortem with doctors who conducted the first autopsy present.

A forensic expert retired from the state CID, Gupta had mentioned two injury marks on the back of the head of the victim in a preliminary report filed before the court, a fact that did not find mention in the first post-mortem report.

The report also pointed out that some cut marks on Faizan's arms were inflicted after his death.

Gupta's report mentioned traces of a chemical called Emplura or sodium nitrate that the police had seized from the scene of the crime.

Sandip Bhattacharya, the court-appointed adviser, submitted that sodium nitrate, a kind of yellowish powder, is normally used in preservation of meat.

During their visit to the room, Gupta and Bhattacharya had found some yellowish residue in a bucket, according to the report.

They also pointed out to the court that upon decomposition of a body, a foul smell emanates which makes it impossible not to be missed. In this case, fellow inmates of the hostel is said not to have detected smell from the body for three days.

Justice Mantha then observed, "The presence of Emplura opens up serious questions as regards the time of death and whether it may have been used to preserve the body.”

Also Read: Assam Forest Official's Death: 3 Absconding Suspects Surrender to Police

Also Watch: