Findings of autopsy report on IAS officer Anurag Tiwari’s death baffle SIT
A panel of four doctors has mentioned asphyxia as the cause of the death of the Karnataka cadre officer but it did not alone suggest it was a homicide case
Puzzled over the cause of death, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted to probe the mysterious death of 2007 batch Karnataka cadre IAS officer, Anurag Tiwari ,36, is unable to reach any conclusion after a week-long investigation.
Anurag Tiwari was found dead under mysterious circumstances in the middle of the road near the state guest house on Meera Bai Marg in Lucknow on May 17.
He was staying in the same guest house along with UP cadre IAS batch mate Prabhu Narain Singh, who is presently posted as vice chairman of Lucknow Development Authority, for three days before the incident.
An SIT member said the panel of four doctors mentioned asphyxia (suffocation caused due to lack of oxygen in the body) as the cause of death. “We have discussed the post-mortem examination report with several experts but they have been unable to differentiate whether the officer died due to a medical complexity or was murdered,” he said .
He said an expert explained that the term asphyxia indicated a mode of dying, rather than a cause of death. He said asphyxia was a condition caused by respiration blockage, or lack of oxygen in inhaled air, due to which the body organs were deprived of oxygen and failed to eliminate carbon dioxide, causing unconsciousness or death.
The SIT member said according to the expert, asphyxia alone did not suggest the death was a homicide case. Strangulation marks or sufficient injuries caused due to smothering may only confirm that the deceased was murdered. “Moreover, the findings mentioned in the post-mortem report did not suggest any marks or injuries confirming smothering,” he added.
An expert said the air passages of the body could be blocked mechanically by five different methods but in case of murder only two ways were applicable. He said the first was the closure of external respiratory organs like nose and mouth with hand or a cloth or by filling the openings with mud. The second method was the closure of air passages by external pressure on the neck, as in hanging, strangulation, and throttling.
The expert said there were also toxic reasons of asphyxia like use of poisonous element to prevent intake of oxygen. He said respiratory organs may be paralyzed in poisoning by opium, barbiturates, strychnine etc. “Moreover, there are also modes of postural asphyxia and it is seen when an unconscious person, either from alcohol, drugs or disease, lay upside down, ” he explained. He said there were also pathological, environmental and traumatic modes of asphyxia but they were irrelevant in the case.
Circle officer (CO) of Hazratganj, Avinish Mishra, who is heading the SIT team, said the team would record the statement of four doctors in the post-mortem panel soon to clarify the facts. He said the team was collecting all the facts and details before jumping to a final conclusion.
The Yogi Adityanath government has recommended CBI probe in the case after Tiwari’s family alleged foul play and lodged a case of murder with Hazratganj police station on May 22. The SIT is probing the matter till the CBI takes over.
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