Calcutta High Court has asked a special investigation team to file a progress report on November 20 of its probe into the death of IIT Kharagpur student Faizan Ahmed.
After being reconstituted in October, the SIT is now headed by Bengal police additional director general (headquarters) K. Jayaraman. He is being assisted by inspector Sankar Chowdhury, of the Bengal STF, and Manik Lal Karfa of the CID.
On October 18, Justice Jay Sengupta of Calcutta High Court had said: "Let a further report about the progress of investigation be filed by the head of the special investigation team on the next date of hearing. List the matter for hearing under the heading 'Specially Fixed Matters' on 20.11.2023 at 3pm."
A member of the team said they will carry out their probe based on an August 16 order of a division bench of the high court that the investigation into the death should proceed based on the second post-mortem, which suggested the death could be a case of homicide.
The team had last week spoken to forensic medicine expert Ajay Kumar Gupta, who had conducted the second post-mortem at the Kolkata police morgue in May following the exhumation of Faizan's remains.
The team plans to visit the campus.
A member of the team said they are also reviewing the progress made by the previous probe team.
He said the forensic report on the second post-mortem of the deceased student was yet to be received.
“We are trying to expedite the process. The nature and cause of death of the victim would be clear once we get the forensic report,” said the officer.
The officer said the team was in the process of examining people who could be possible witnesses in the case.
A third-year student of mechanical engineering, Faizan was found dead in a hostel room on the IIT Kharagpur campus on October 11, 2022.
Faizan’s parents have yet to know how the boy from Assam’s Dibrugarh died.
The probe by the SIT, ordered by Justice Rajasekhar Mantha of the high court in June, has hobbled.
Rehana Ahmed, mother of the deceased student, said: “I have heard that since being reconstituted, the team has spoken to the forensic medicine expert.... Hope they will be able to let me know how my son died. I don’t know when my quest for justice will end.”
The first post-mortem report conducted at the Midnapore Medical College and Hospital was inconclusive.
Forensic medicine expert Gupta said the probe team asked him whether he would revisit the campus along with the sleuths if the investigation demanded a fresh visit.
“I am ready to cooperate. I have shared with the team details pertaining to the examination. The second post-mortem happened in late May, following the court’s intervention. Now, it is November. The investigation is getting delayed,” he told The Telegraph.