The High Court, while passing the order to exhume the grave, said that a second post-mortem was “important and necessary to arrive at the truth”. (Representational image)
During a recent hearing, the Calcutta High Court insisted that the investigating officer coordinate with the Assam Police and ensure that the mortal remains are properly exhumed and brought to Kolkata for a fresh autopsy.
The body of Faizan Ahmed, a student of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, was exhumed seven months after he was buried in a cemetery in Assam’s Dibrugarh town. After a second post-mortem was ordered by the Calcutta High Court, his body was exhumed by a West Bengal Police team with the consent of the family.
The court ruling came after a court-appointed expert pointed out several flaws in the first autopsy. Faizan Ahmed, a 23-year-old student, was found dead in his hostel room on October 14, 2022. He was a third year student of mechanical engineering. His college authorities claimed it was a case of suicide but the family alleged that he was murdered. Faizan’s family also accused the concerned authorities of 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 insisted that the investigating officer coordinate with the Assam Police and ensure that the mortal remains are properly exhumed and brought to Kolkata for a fresh autopsy. The High Court, while passing the order to exhume the grave, said that a second post-mortem was “important and necessary to arrive at the truth”.
Meanwhile, officials in Dibrugarh said the body would be taken to Kolkata on Wednesday. “The body of the victim has been buried as per Muslim rituals in Assam. According to a report in NDTV, Justice Rajasekhar Mantha said, the body of the victim Faizan Ahmed has been ordered to be exhumed.
The Amolpatti burial ground in Dibrugarh was monitored by a four-member Bengal Police team, forensic experts from the Assam Medical College and Hospital (AMCH) in Dibrugarh and the Directorate of Forensic Science in Guwahati, as well as a magisterial report by the state. The local police was guarding and Faizan’s family members were also present there. The body was carefully placed in a coffin and taken to the AMCH mortuary.
A West Bengal Police team will fly with the coffin to Kolkata, where a second post-mortem will be conducted at the Medical College and Hospital as per the order of the Calcutta High Court.
Faizan’s mother Rehana, who was at the site during the excavation, told The Indian Express that the second autopsy report could bring “peace” and “justice” to the family. “There is no peace since he died; I haven’t slept for so many months… no mother expects such a day, but for justice for her we have to do this… Hopefully we will get to know the truth and this is a step towards that. When the excavation process was taking place, some officials of IIT Kharagpur, including registrar Tamal Nath, were reportedly present there.
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