The mother of Faizan Ahmed, the third-year IIT Kharagpur student who was found dead in a hostel room in October last year, said on Friday that her only wish was to know why her son was “killed”.
"My son was a peace-loving jovial person. Finally, now that the world is convinced eight months after his death that my son did not commit suicide, my only wish is to find out the reason why he was killed. Who killed him and what punishment the person gets is secondary to me," Rehana Ahmed told The Telegraph.
The family had lodged a murder complaint with West Midnapore police in October 2022, but the police initially declared it to be a case of suicide. Based on a petition filed by the family, Calcutta High Court ordered a second post-mortem following which the body was exhumed.
"On October 14 (2022) we received a call informing us that Faizan was not keeping well and that we should go (to IIT Kharagpur campus) immediately. On reaching there, I saw him dead. There was blood. His face had turned blue. When I asked the police about the blood, I was silenced, saying that I, being a layperson, had no knowledge about fluids and blood oozing out of a body," Rehana said.
The last time she spoke to Faizan was three days before his death.
"He called me on October 11. I told him to come home and take a few days' break. I wanted to see him. But he refused and said he would meet me in November," she recounted. The same night, Faizan spoke to his aunt on a video call, she said.
"He did not appear to be depressed in any way. Nor was he in any mood to commit suicide,” she said.
The report of the second post-mortem, which was conducted recently at the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital, said the injuries on Faizan could be homicidal in nature. Rehana said she was present during the second post-mortem.
"It was extremely difficult to stand there and see the process, but this time I could not take any chances. I had not attended the first post-mortem," she said.
The first autopsy was conducted at the Midnapore Medical College and Hospital.
Justice Rajasekhar Mantha of Calcutta High Court, who has examined the second post-mortem report, wrote in his order on Tuesday: “There are serious questions that are required to be addressed by the police and the investigating officer.”
“The matter now becomes an investigation into a likely homicidal of murder,” Justice Mantha wrote in his order.
West Midnapore police said they have initiated a fresh probe into the death in the light of the findings of the second post-mortem.
A senior officer said on Friday night: "This is an extremely sensitive case and we will share the progress of the probe with the court."