The West Midnapore police, which had initially declared the death of third-year IIT Kharagpur student Faizan Ahmed as a case of suicide, said on Thursday they have reinitiated a probe following an order from Calcutta High Court.
An officer of the district police who did not wish to be named said the process of re-examination of the people who could be involved in the unnatural death of the student has begun.
“We are strictly following the court order. It could be noted that we had started a murder case right on day one. So there is no question of amending the sections. But we have started to review the probe in light of the findings of the second post-mortem on the student’s body,” said the officer.
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.
The FIR lodged by Faizan’s family on October 16, 2022, did not mention anyone in the “accused column”.
A murder case was started against “unknown” people. However, the police later ruled out murder and said the student’s death was a case of “suicide”.
A lawyer representing Faizan’s family said that according to the police’s initial investigation, the student had slashed his wrist with a blade.
“I asked in the court why the blade was not found in his room. Now the post-mortem report has quashed the theory of suicide. The court itself has said there are ‘serious questions’ that are required to be addressed by the police,” the lawyer said.
According to a forensic expert’s observations accompanying the second post-mortem report: “Death of Faizan Ahmed, 23 years... was due to profuse bleeding causing hemorrhagic shock and combined effect infused over chest and over head. Manner of death of Faizan Ahmed... was ante-mortem injuries, Homicidal in nature. Further opinion will be given after receipt of report of preserved articles from forensic science laboratory.”
The first post-mortem report was “inconclusive” in nature, the police said.
“We had depended upon the post-mortem report which is considered as primary evidence in any case. Now that fresh findings have been reported, we will change the course of the investigation,” the officer said.