Cops exhume Rameez's body

Police on Monday exhumed the body of Rameez Choughule, one of the two Versova siblings who died of suspected pesticide poisoning two-and-a-half months ago. The body was sent to the JJ Hospital to ascertain the cause of death.

Police on Monday exhumed the body of Rameez Choughule, one of the two Versova siblings who died of suspected pesticide poisoning two-and-a-half months ago. The body was sent to the JJ Hospital to ascertain the cause of death.

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Doctors who performed the autopsy said the body was completely decomposed and the organs could not be distinguished. “We have preserved whatever remains of the viscera [stomach, parts of kidney, liver and spleen] and sent it for chemical analysis,” said a doctor from the forensic department of the hospital. The viscera have been sent to the forensic laboratory at Kalina. An official from the Versova police station said the cause of death would be known in the next 15 days.

Rameez’s body was exhumed at 9am on Monday from the Yari Road graveyard where he was buried. Supervising the process were officials from the Versova police, Rameez’s parents – Gayasuddin and Farzana - a panel of doctors from JJ Hospital and a representative of the tehsildar. On August 27, the Versova police secured permission from Collector to exhume Rameez’s body. This after a four-member expert medical panel said that a post mortem was needed to ascertain the actual cause of the siblings’ deaths. Police then sought the local tehsildar and health department’s approval.

Police officials said that the post mortem report of Rameez’s sister Rehab had arrived recently. The report indicated that she died of phosphine poisoning. “There was a complete question mark about his death as no post mortem was conducted. Things will now become clearer,” said the official.