Khejuri BJP workers’ death: Calcutta HC seeks call records of 2 cops, doctor who conducted first post-mortem

BJP workers Sudhir Chandra Paik, 65, and Sujit Das, 23, were found dead after they had gone to watch a cultural programme organised on the occasion of Muharram in the Janka area. While the event organisers claimed that the two were electrocuted, their families claimed that they were killed for religious reasons.

After the Medinipur Medical College released the post-mortem reports, the police too said that the deaths were due to electrocution. However, their families approached the Calcutta High Court, and a second autopsy was conducted at SSKM Hospital, which found injury marks on one of the bodies.

On Wednesday, the state presented the case diary and the post-mortem reports before the high court, which observed that the second post-mortem report mentioned ante-mortem injuries.

According to Advocate General Kishore Dutta, “The first and second post-mortem report of Paik are identical. But for Sujit Das, marks of assault were found in the second post-mortem, which were not there in the first post-mortem. No allegation was made before the court about assault.”

‘Disconnect between second post-mortem and conduct of probe’

Justice Basak asked, “How did the second PM (post-mortem) show signs of torture? After this…the first doctor’s statement was taken. He doesn’t say how there was a difference. Has the CDR of the first doctor been taken? There is a disconnect between the second PM and the conduct of the investigation till the second PM report. It is about instilling faith of the public in the police.”

The court stated that though the incident took place at a fair, there was no account from an eyewitness. “There is no eyewitness to the assault and we have to believe that,” it said.

The court also observed that the case diary is very important. At the same time, the court said, “It may not have been a death due to the falling of an electric pole. Because there were other injuries on the body, which came up in the second autopsy.”

According to AG Dutta, there was no mention of any assault in the statements recorded.

Justice Basak then said, “Check the call recordings of all mobile phones. The phone recordings of the remaining 17 people (against whom complaints were filed), including the first post-mortem doctor, IO (investigating officer) and OC (officer in charge of police station), should be checked.” He also ordered a probe against the 17 individuals and directed to check the mobile phones of the committee members of the cultural programme as well.

Last month, the Calcutta High Court had handed over the probe in the case to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), following which the families of the deceased moved the division bench seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).