Forensic experts baffled over the victim's death causes

By Quaid Najmi

Mumbai: At least three well-known forensic specialists with decades of autopsies under their belts have raised questions over the death of a 28-year-old celeb manager after her family expressed fresh doubts on the probe and pointed fingers at a politician and a couple of Bollywood actors.

Referring to certain images of the victim – who died after falling from the 14th floor of a residential building in Malad on June 8-9, 2020, an ex-government medico Dr. V. Take said if the photos of the victim were authentic, “then, there is something very fishy”.

“It is very much evident that there is something amiss about the whole case. Apparently, no proper autopsy was conducted, or there could be an attempt to hush up things,” said Dr. Take, with around 300 post-mortems to his credit.

He said it is hard to swallow – from the purported photos in public domain – that the female victim did not suffer any head injuries despite falling from a height of at least 120-feet.

“It is unbelievable how the victim’s face is bereft of any facial injury, or tell-tale signs after such a steep fall, her face on the funeral pyre had no wrappings around her skull indicating that it was probably not examined internally, which is contrary to SOPs of an autopsy,” Dr. Take added.

Dr. Vishal Surwade, a Professor of Forensic Sciences with a prominent private medical college in Indore, with a 1000-plus autopsies in his CV, feels that after a fall from even a couple of floors, there are definitely head injuries, both internal-external which must be examined by opening the skull, but in this victim, there are more questions than answers.

As per reports after her death, the girl’s post-mortem was conducted around two days after her plunge to death, when rigor mortis may have suppressed some crucial biological/chemical markers, Dr. Surwade pointed out.

On the reports that her body was found some 25 feet away from the building, Dr. Take wonders how a body falling vertically could virtually ‘fly’ and landed so far away, whether there was a huge sound then, any screams from the victim, or verifying her friends’ claim that when they raced down, she was still ‘alive’ and they rushed her to hospital where she succumbed.

While highlighting the doubts, all the experts are flummoxed as to why the victim’s family – which had publicly accepted the findings earlier – wants to reopen the case after so many years.

They speculated, whether there were pressures then, or some compulsions now, if any fresh evidence has come to their hands, there are sinister attempts to either implicate/extricate someone, given the multiple names that have cropped in the high-profile case that came to be linked with death of a prominent actor Sushant Singh Rajput that happened five days later.

Commenting as many aspects of the case have just come into the open now, the specialist medico trio averred that “there’s something more than visible” but remained optimistic that the mystery may be unravelled and the gnawing doubts erased soon to ensure justice for the victim.

BOX-ITEM:

Peek into the Autopsy Theatre

Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation’s Deputy Municipal Commissioner Dr. Kailas Gaikwad – with 3000 post-mortems to his credit - explained how, during autopsy, the team cuts the skin, breaks or saws the skull with a hacksaw blade, removes and examines the brain, later places it back, covers and sutures the skin/scalp.

“The autopsy is usually carried out before rigor mortis sets in within hours of death. The blood keeps oozing so the head is cleaned, wrapped in polythene and cloth,” Dr. Gaikwad told The Perfect Voice.

However, in most cases of unnatural or suspected foul play, the autopsies are conducted late and so the blood oozing may be minimal or nil, he said.

Later, the body is washed, dried and handed over, and barring cases of dome/scalp injuries, the head is usually kept open, as now is shown in the celeb manager victim’s case.