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Journalism of Courage
NEW DELHI, JANUARY 13: The Anju Illyasi case is barely two days old. But the doctors who conducted her post-mortem examination at the AIIMS on Wednesday are already blaming the Delhi Police for shoddy investigation. The Indian Express spoke to a doctor on the post-mortem panel to find out what went wrong and why the doctors could not come up with a conclusive report today.
Blunder I: A senior doctor on the panel said: “We could have come up with a substantial report with vital pointers at the nature of the crime on Wednesday itself. But the police have already spoilt the case in its initial and most important phase.”
“For instance, we wanted to scientifically examine the weapon of offence, that is, the chopper that was caused the stab wounds, during the post-mortem examination. The Delhi Police furnished us the weapon. But what do you expect us to find when the so-called crime team of the Delhi Police had already held the sharp-edged part of the knife with their bare hands? How can they commit such blunders?” the doctor asked.
According to the doctor, when a person holds a very sharp weapon with his skin exposed to the edges, “micro-bleeding” occurs. The skin of the person holding the weapon bleeds slightly which may not be visible to the naked eye. “When the weapon is further examined, it will show blood stains of the holder. This will confuse the expert who will find it difficult to reach important conclusion based on scientific facts.”
Blunder II: When the investigating officers submitted the death certificate and post-mortem papers to the doctors’ panel, they forgot to attach the medical reports that were filed at the Virmani Nursing Home in Mayur Vihar. Reason: the Delhi Police did not possess the reports either, even after 48 hours of the incident.
Explaining the importance of the nursing home report, the doctor said: “It was at the Virmani Nursing Home where the victim was first treated. The medicines that she may have been injected with there or the life-saving drugs that she may have been administered at the nursing home becomes important in this case. Unless the doctors in the post-mortem panel know the nature of treatment and the drugs administered, how will they examine the reactions in the victim’s body?”
The doctors have asked for more time and submission of the viscera report before they arrive at any conclusions. “This is not a classic suicidal or homicidal case,” the doctor pointed out. “At the present stage of investigations, there is a 50-50 chance of it being either suicidal or homicidal. That the first wound was more serious than the second one does not indicate anything.”
“It has been observed that in several cases of suicide, the first blow is shallow and the following ones are fatal. But this principle holds true only when the area of injury is the neck. Injuries on the stomach do not show a definite pattern. It could be either way.”
Blunder III: The doctor claims that the viscera report assumes tremendous significance now. “But it looks like the Delhi Police will spoil that aspect as well as they have asked for a week’s time to submit the report. I don’t understand why they need so much time. Proper and scientific examination of the viscera does not take more than six hours. One can submit the report in less than 24 hours. But the Delhi Police and the Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory will take their own sweet time. In the meantime, we can all wait and some may speculate.”
When contacted for comments, Joint Commissioner of Police (New Delhi Range) R K Niyogi said: “Please talk to the SDM about the matter as he is conducting the investigations.” When told that the accusations were particularly pointed towards the Delhi Police’s inefficiency, the Jt CP said: “I cannot comment on the matter, as I have not seen the report. The only thing I can say is that in case of the viscera report, it is the not us but another agency who is handling this test. If what you say is correct and the doctors want us to submit the viscera tests quickly, then we shall tell the agency to expedite the matter.”
