Firing outside Salman Khan’s home: HC expresses displeasure over ‘incomplete’ autopsy into accused’s ‘custodial death’

A vacation bench of Justices Nitin R Borkar and Somasekhar Sundaresan perused a post-mortem report of government-run Grant Medical College and JJ Hospital and noticed that the same did not include details including a diagram of a ligature mark found on the neck of the deceased’s body and as to what all injuries were present on his body.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court had also earlier this month allowed the mother’s plea for a second post-mortem report in her son’s death.

The court was hearing a plea by Thapan’s mother Rita Devi seeking a CBI inquiry. The plea claimed that her son had been killed and was physically assaulted and tortured by the police in custody.

On May 15, HC had directed that CCTV footage from the crime branch police station and the cell where Thapan was kept along with call data records of police officers be preserved.

Additional Public Prosecutor J P Yagnik representing the police submitted an interim report on investigation carried out by state CID till date in the matter and also submitted Thapan’s post mortem report. The court perused the report and noted that while the cause of death was asphyxiation, certain other details were missing and the same should be provided.

“Where is the diagram of the ligature mark? It has to be present in the post-mortem Report. How is it not a part of the report? Show us what sort of injuries are present on his body? Is the ligature mark in oblique position or round? It (death by asphyxiation) can be by strangulation also and need not be by hanging. What is your investigating officer (IO) doing? Has he written a letter (to doctors) at least? Where is the complete post-mortem report? It is incomplete,” the bench orally questioned the state lawyer.

Yagnik said that the probing team will make necessary communication with the concerned medical team. The Court permitted the petitioner’s lawyer to inspect and go through the post mortem report.

Moreover, senior advocate Aabad Ponda, representing actor Salman Khan, sought that his client’s name be deleted as party respondent in the plea and from prayers as the petitioner had not made any pleadings against him.

Ponda said his client was in fact the “victim” in the matter as someone tried to attack him and his house. Ponda added that “dragging” his client in the plea as party respondent was sending a wrong signal and causing damage to his public image and the job. “It is a matter of the career of the man who is innocent,” Ponda argued.

The petitioner’s lawyer said that he was not seeking any relief or action against Khan at present and sought leave to correct a typographical error in including Khan’s name in one of the prayers in the plea, which the bench allowed.

The court also sought a magistrate’s report on the death as per procedure and posted the matter for further hearing to June 10.