The rats did it – court pulls up Indore police after samples in homicide case are destroyed by rodents

On October 4, Abhinay Vishwakarma, DCP Zone 2, along with Vijay Nagar SHO Chandrakant Patel, appeared before the court and answered queries regarding the destruction of evidence by rats.

The DCP informed the court that the “bottles in which the viscera were kept were plastic cans which were damaged by rats in the rainy season”, and that because of this, “histopathological reports could not be obtained.” He said 28 other samples were also destroyed by rats.

Justice Subodh Abhyankar said that in his considered opinion, the “police officers concerned should have taken into account all the relevant factors to protect and safeguard the material seized during an investigation, and although nothing can be done about this spilt milk, at least this incident has also brought in to the light the pathetic condition in which the articles/material collected during investigation is kept in the police stations of the State”.

“It is anybody’s guess as to what the situation in the police stations at small places would be, when in the present case, the police station was one of the most busy police stations of Indore city,” the court said.

The High Court directed the state’s police chief to “take stock of all the malkhanas of all the police stations, so as to ensure that such incidents are avoided in future…”

The DCP told the court that a departmental inquiry has been initiated against the malkhana in-charge and the SHO over the lapses. Police also submitted that items in the malkhana have now been moved to another room, and “extra precaution has been taken to sanitise and seal the room”.

The court said the police’s explanation was “by no stretch of imagination, can be said to be satisfactory…”