‘Psychological autopsy’ confirms Sachan suicide

The CBI conducted a ‘psychological autopsy’, a forensic concept being used for the first time in the country, to confirm that Lucknow deputy chief medical officer Dr YS Sachan had committed suicide. CBI officials said they now plan to use this methodology in every case of mysterious death. Rajesh Ahuja reports.

The CBI conducted a ‘psychological autopsy’, a forensic concept being used for the first time in the country, to confirm that Lucknow deputy chief medical officer Dr YS Sachan had committed suicide. CBI officials said they now plan to use this methodology in every case of mysterious death.

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Dr Sachan was found dead in mysterious circumstances at the Lucknow Jail hospital on June 22, 2011. The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court had referred the case to the CBI in July 2011.

In Dr Sachan’s case, the CBI took the help of an expert from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CSFL) to conduct the ‘psychological autopsy’, wherein he analysed the circumstances leading up to his death and compared it with typical suicide situations.

“We will conduct a ‘psychological autopsy’ in the death of Sahil Zaidi, the son of Justice Barkat Ali Zaidi, who retired from the Allahabad HC,” said a senior CBI official.

The expert reportedly opined that Dr Sachan, a hypertension patient, had experienced disturbed sleep before his death. He skipped meals, and was stressed about by issues at office and home.

His choice of weapon was not conventional. The expert noted that Dr Sachan had died from a half-blade, a domestic tool, something that led to the conclusion that it was not a case of murder. A pre-planned murder would have been executed with a conventional weapon, he said.

Besides this, all the wounds were located on accessible parts of the body such as the wrist, elbow and neck. There was no sign of a third person’s presence, or a struggle in the toilet from where the body was recovered.