On Monday, May 22, 2023, a team of police officers from Kharagpur, West Bengal, arrived in Dibrugarh. Following a court order from the Calcutta High Court, they proceeded to exhume the body of Faizan Ahmad. Faizan Ahmad, a student at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, was discovered dead in mysterious circumstances at the hostel in October of the previous year. He was originally from Assam.
As per the order from the Calcutta High Court to exhume Faizan’s body, the body was taken out of the grave. The High Court ordered for a second post-mortem to be conducted at Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, stating the need to determine whether his death was a suicide or not.
In October of last year, a report was made to the police regarding a foul smell emanating from a locked room in Lala Lajpat Rai (LLR) Hall at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur in West Bengal. Subsequently, the police responded to the scene and opened the door of the room. It was then that they discovered the lifeless body of Faizan Ahmad, a 23-year-old student studying Mechanical Engineering. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma expressed his condolences through a tweet.
The police stated that the student who passed away was from Tinsukia, Assam. They received information that he had been missing for two days. Faizan resided in Rajendra Prasad Hall. The police were unsure of the reasons and timing for his visit to LLR Hall. An officer suggested that it seemed to be a suicide case, but the police were conducting a comprehensive investigation into all aspects of the matter.
Order and observations by the High Court
On 25th April 2023, Justice Rajasekhar Mantha said, “A second post-mortem is vital and necessary for arriving at the truth in this case. The body of the victim has been buried as per Muslim rites at Assam. Let the body of the victim Faizan Ahmed is ordered to be exhumed. The investigating officer in the matter shall coordinate with the Assam Police and ensure that the body and/or remains are exhumed, brought to Kolkata by the State Police and a fresh post-mortem is conducted.”
The court added, “Firstly, there are two visible injury marks, otherwise medically called Haematoma, on the back of the head of the victim and the marks have been confirmed by Mr. Sandip Kumar Bhattacharya, Ld. Amicus Curiae. The original post-mortem report does not mention the same. It is submitted by Mr. Bhattacharya that sodium nitrate a yellowish powder is normally used to preserve meat.”
The court also noted its observations on the late revealing of the death. The court said, “It is submitted that when a body decomposes, it is impossible that the fellow inmates of the hostel would not be able to detect it. There was mysteriously no smell from the body for 3 days. The presence of this chemical Emplura (Sodium Nitrate) opens up serious questions as regards the time of death and whether it may have been used to preserve the body after the death of the victim.”
The court clarified that its order should not be interpreted as questioning or criticizing the state police. It added, “This order should not be construed as casting any aspersions on the State police since they have proceeded primarily on the post-mortem report given to them. It is expected that the aforesaid exercise is conducted and completed within a period of one month from date.”
