IITKGP student’s death: Parents of deceased want probe against cops, docs

Ranajit Chatterjee, one of the lawyers representing Faizan’s family, said they wanted a probe to be instituted against the police and the doctors who conducted the first post-mortem for the inept investigation and misleading autopsy report. 

The parents of IIT Kharagpur student Faizan Ahmed, a third-year BTech student from Assam, whose semi-decomposed body was found in his hostel room on October 14 last year, have filed an application in Calcutta High Court seeking a probe into “the tardy and inept investigation” into the death, The Telegraph reported. 

The application has sought an “enquiry”, but lawyers who filed the petition later clarified that they meant an investigation into the role of the police and the doctors who conducted the first post-mortem. 

“We want a probe to be instituted against the police and the doctors who conducted the first post-mortem for the inept investigation and misleading autopsy report,” said Ranajit Chatterjee, one of the lawyers representing Faizan’s family. 

The application is part of a writ petition that is likely to be heard in the court of Justice Rajasekhar Mantha on Wednesday, sources in the court said. The parents have said in their applications the police officers and the doctors concerned should be prosecuted under Section 201 of the IPC (causing disappearance of evidence of the offence, or giving false information to screen offender). 

A special investigation team “constituted by this court” should conduct the probe under “strict monitoring” of the court, the parents have said in their application. 

A team of the West Bengal police had recently exhumed Faizan’s body to conduct its second post-mortem examination. The fresh post-mortem report was tabled before Justice Rajasekhar Mantha recently. Justice Mantha said: “Since the first post-mortem report avoided mentioning there were marks of injuries on the skull of Faizan, this has triggered doubts.... It seems that the institute authorities had influenced the first post-mortem report.”  

The first post-mortem was conducted at Midnapore Medical College and Hospital, while the second autopsy was conducted at Calcutta Medical College and Hospital. The judge had said the court was of the view that “Section 302 of the IPC (punishment for murder) may be added while probing the death”.  

In the application, the parents have said: “Enquiry be also instituted against the deputy superintendent of police, Paschim Medinipur, Dipak Sarkar, and investigating officers Samar Layek and Biswaranjan Banerjee, both of Kharagpur Town Police Station, for the tardy and inept investigation....” 

The appeal says inquiry be also instituted against former West Midnapore superintendent of police Dinesh Kumar and assistant superintendent of police Rana Mukherjee. Kumar and Layak declined comment. Sarkar said he had no knowledge about the application by Faizan’s parents and hence, would not be able to comment on it. 

Read more: 

• IITKGP student’s death: HC orders murder probe
• IITKGP student’s death: HC orders exhumation, second autopsy
• Courts orders forensic probe into death of IITKGP student