Death of kids: Forensics negate drowning theory

The final forensic report has said the organ failure due to asphyxiation was the result of strangulation or application of external forces on the bodies of Umang Nai (4) and Jaydeep Nai (5). The State CID (Crime),which took over the probe from the Gandhinagar Local Crime Branch (LCB) last week,has now made the forensic report the basis for further investigation.

The Gandhinagar LCB had,on the basis of the postmortem report,said the cousins had died of drowning. It ruled out any murder angle,which led to protests and a fast-unto-death from the family and the community members,after which Gujarat Police transferred the case to CID (Crime).

Investigating Officer,CID (Crime) Inspector P K Patel,said: “The forensic reports came after almost two months. The reports do not clarify how the children died,but state that they both had organ failure. Drowning is not the only reason for death.”

He added: “The forensic report doesn’t support the postmortem report,which said the children died of suffocation due to drowning. Some water was found in their stomachs during the postmortem. The report rules out out any other reasons behind the deaths.”

CID (Crime) officers said the forensic report corroborates the postmortem finding that the children had mud on their body. But the mud does not match the mud from the Narmada Canal. Instead it matches the mud found in the garbage near the car and the garage. There was also some amount of saliva and blood on their clothes,said an officer. CID said the forensic report has ruled out poisoning or internal wounds.

The children had gone outside their homes to play,and after they failed to return,a search was mounted. Villagers found the bodies hidden below cartons,papers and some garbage inside the boot of an unused car at a garage close to their residence.

The police have said the manner in which the bodies were stuffed inside the boot raises suspicion that someone kidnapped the children and killed them near the Narmada Canal,which flows along the village.

The car belongs to one Rasool Mansuri,a resident of the same village,who had reportedly left it in the garage for sale. Patel said: “Mansuri is the key man under scanner. The villagers told us that this man’s day-to-day activities are suspicious. He partly owns the garage where he left his car. It is also possible that someone killed the children and stuffed the bodies in the car thinking it was the least likely place to be searched.”

The CID Crime has begun a fresh round of questioning and spot-checking at Indroda .