Groundxero | 14 June, 2023

The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday (14 June) set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the unnatural death of IIT-Kharagpur student Faizan Ahmed. Justice Rajasekhar Mantha, who is hearing the case, set up the investigation team after the second post-mortem performed on the student’s body had found injuries before death that “were homicidal in nature”. The court had directed that charges under Section 302 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) be added in the case.

“This Court, considering the entire facts and circumstances of the case and the new evidence in the second post mortem report, is inclined to replace the existing Investigating Officer [IO] in the matter with an independent team. This Court directs the appointment of K. Jayaraman, IPS ADG Headquarters, West Bengal to lead the investigation in the matter,” the court order said.

Considering the entire facts and circumstances of the case and the new evidence in the second post mortem report, the Court removed the Investigating Officer (IO) in the case and appointed K. Jayaraman, IPS ADG Headquarters, West Bengal to lead the investigation in the death of Faizan. Jayaraman will be assisted by Susanta Dhar, a retired senior officer of the Homicide Division of the Calcutta Police. Kaushik Basak, currently OC, Homicide of the CID, West Bengal, was appointed as the new IO, who shall function under the supervision and guidance of Jayaraman.

The court order stated, “The entire case diary, evidence and material collected by the existing Investigating Officer be handed over to Jayaraman and his team. The newly appointed investigating team may select other officers to assist them and form sub-teams for the purpose of expedition and urgency.”

In view of the serious omissions in the first post mortem report and the misdirection of the earlier investigation, the Court also permitted the newly appointed SIT to conduct a truth serum and narco- analysis test on any of the witnesses or persons they deem necessary to throw light on the incident. Justice Mantha also ordered that the remains of Faizan, who has been lying in Kolkata for 21 days now should be sent back to Dibrugarh within three days.

Faizan Ahmed, 23 — a resident of Assam’s Tinsukia district — was a student of third year mechanical engineering at IIT-Kharagpur. On 14 October, 2022, the partially decomposed body of Faizan was found in his hostel (Lala Lajpat Rai hostel), after the authorities broke open the bolted door of his room. An FIR was filed by the police at Kharagpur Town station on 16 October since it was an unnatural death.

IIT Kharagpur authorities had claimed that Faizan had committed suicide. His family, however,  repeatedly kept claiming that their son was murdered. The post-mortem report also could not pin-point any concrete cause for his death. Faizan’s family moved Calcutta High Court on 1 November, dissatisfied with the police investigation. They alleged that IIT Kharagpur was attempting to pass of their son’s murder as a case of suicide to safeguard its reputation.

On 23 May — on the directions of the Calcutta High Court – Faizan Ahmed’s body was exhumed from the graveyard in Dibrugarh and brought to Kolkata for a second autopsy to be conducted at Kolkata Medical College. The second post-mortem indicated that his death was possibly due to an injury on the back of his head.

In his report, Dr Ajoy Kumar Gupta, a forensic expert, who was appointed by the High Court, stated that Faizan’s death was due to profuse bleeding causing hemorrhagic shock and combined effect infused over chest and over head. “Manner of death of Faizan was ante mortem injuries. Homicidal in nature,” the report said.

On June 6, 2023, the court after going through the second autopsy report and other materials in the case remarked that Faizan’s death was probably a case of  Homicide, and in the hearing on 14 June it set up the SIT to investigate the death. Reacting to the court’s order, Rehana Ahmed, mother of Faizan said, “Today’s order by Kolkata High Court is in the right direction and it has brightened our hope to get justice. Since my child was murdered. I was looking for an answer, who killed him and why? Now, I hope the SIT will find out the truth.”

The next hearing in the case will be on 12 July, 2023.

(With inputs from a report by eNewsroom)