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CBI must probe Assam student’s death at IIT-Kharagpur: Himanta writes to Mamata
Faizan Ahmed, a 24-year-old student of IIT-Kharagpur, from Tinsukia in Assam, was found dead in his hostel room on October 14, 2022
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has written to his West Bengal counterpart, Mamata Banerjee, seeking a probe by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the mysterious death of a student from Assam in Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur (IIT-KGP) two years ago.
Faizan Ahmed, a 24-year-old student of IIT-KGP, from Tinsukia in Assam, was found dead in his hostel room on October 14, 2022.
Also Read: IIT-Kharagpur student was possibly shot, hints second forensic report
The IIT-KGP authorities and West Bengal police called it a case of suicide and the first autopsy report also stated the same. However, a second postmortem done on the directions of Calcutta high court revealed he was shot and stabbed.
“It is now reported that, as directed by the Hon’ble Calcutta high court, a second autopsy was carried out by exhuming late Ahmed’s body. According to the second forensic report, there was a gunshot wound on the upper left side of late Ahmed’s neck and a stab wound on the right side of his neck,” Sarma wrote in his letter to Banerjee on Monday.
“In view of the shocking findings of the latest forensic report, it is imperative that the perpetrators of the horrific crime as well as any other persons involved in concealing the crime are brought to book, thereby ensuring justice to the deceased, and closure to the grief-stricken parents. I, therefore, request you to kindly hand over the case to the CBI for a transparent and fair investigation of the crime,” he added.
The Assam CM’s request to Banerjee comes two days after the second autopsy report suggested that the student was possibly hit with some heavy blunt object, stabbed and shot by the accused.
Following the second autopsy report, parents of the deceased student urged Sarma to help them.
This is the second time Sarma has written to Banerjee seeking her intervention for a fair probe into the case.
He had earlier written to the West Bengal CM on October 20, 2022, after the parents of the student, who noticed injury marks on his body, rejected suicide claims of IIT-KGP and local police.
The first autopsy on Ahmed’s body was done on October 15, a day after the body was found. The body was then handed over to his parents who took it to Assam and buried it.
Later, they approached the Calcutta high court seeking a thorough investigation into the death.
Following that, the body was exhumed, and a second autopsy conducted in May 2023.
“The victim was hit with blunt objects on his head, stabbed and shot below the left ear,” Ajoy Kumar Gupta, a retired forensic expert from West Bengal CID, who was appointed by the Calcutta HC told HT last week.
The final report of Gupta’s investigation is likely to be submitted to the HC, which is hearing the case, next month.
