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Four years after convict’s death, Chandigarh police lodge murder FIR
While jail authorities maintained that he died of cardiac failure, the subsequent autopsy report, ordered by court as part of inquest proceedings, reflected that the deceased’s body had several injuries and fractured ribs
Over four years after the death of a murder convict at Burail Jail, police have registered a murder case after an inquest probe established that he died of strangulation.
Mohan Lal was sentenced to life term in an April 1999 murder case and was incarcerated at the Model Jail, Burail, Chandigarh.
A heart patient, he was advised bypass surgery, but refused to undergo the operation when he was sent to GMCH, Sector 32, on January 10, 2017.
On the night of February 17, 2017, he was again rushed to the hospital with high blood pressure, but he died after 30 minutes.
While jail authorities maintained that he died of cardiac failure, the subsequent autopsy report, ordered by court as part of inquest proceedings, reflected that the deceased’s body had several injuries and fractured ribs.
Further probe was conducted by Gaurav Dutta, judicial magistrate first class, Chandigarh. A preliminary report had said, “The present situation is very dicy due to variation in ocular as well as medical evidence. Medical evidence suggests that death may have been caused due to multiple contusions on the neck. Fracture of ribs was not medically fatal.”
Eventually forensic experts ruled out poisoning and the court held, “Now, it is crystal clear that after the final opinion of the medical evidence regarding cause of death is asphyxia, consequent upon manual strangulation in a pre-existing case of chronic ischemic heart disease.”
The judicial magistrate stated in his report that though the court visited the jail and recorded all possible ocular evidence, no clue as to the culprit could be deduced. Therefore, a murder investigation be initiated by police.
‘Ribs may have broken during resuscitation measures’
Deposing before the judicial magistrate, the jail’s senior medical officer, Dr Neena Chaudhary, had said the injuries on ribs may have been caused during resuscitation measures, and those on the neck may have occurred due to panic removal of a beaded necklace that the deceased was wearing.
He was not given proper medicine: Kin
Lal’s wife, Chandrawati, and sons Suresh Kumar and Kanhaiya, during the inquiry into his death, had said that he was ill for some time and police were not giving him proper medicine.
Co-prisoner Rajbir, hailing from Haryana, said he and Mohan Lal were lodged in Model Jail, Burail, for the past 16 years.He said Lal had also suffered multiple heart attacks. Jail authorities had deposited money for his treatment. But due to fear, he was not undergoing surgery for his heart ailment. Sometimes, he would not even take his medicines.
