2nd autopsy done on Disha case accused

HYDERABAD: Eighteen days after the alleged encounter killing of four accused in the Disha case, a second post-mortem examination was performed on their bodies by a team of forensic doctors from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, at the Gandhi Hospital here on Monday, as per directions of the  High Court.

The bodies were subsequently handed over to their families and sent to their native places in two ambulances under police escort for the last rites.

The High Court had on Saturday directed that a second post-mortem examination be performed on the bodies of Mohammed Arif, J. Shiva, J. Naveen, and C. Chennakeshavulu, who were killed in an alleged exchange of fire bet-ween them and the Cyberabad police on the outskirts of Chattan-pally village during the early hours of December 6.

The accused were arrested by the Shadnagar police on charges of raping and murdering the 27-year-old veterinary doctor on November 27. They were subsequently taken to the outskirts of Chattanpally for recovering Disha’s belongings, which the accused had buried there.

The alleged exchange of fire took place when the accused snatched two guns by overpowering policemen escorting them. The accused then allegedly opened fire at the police party, which retaliated with fire, leading to the death of all the four accused.

The team of three forensic doctors, assisted by another expert, reached the Gandhi Hospital at around 9 am on Monday. They reportedly interacted with families of the four deceased before carrying out the procedures.

The AIIMS team asked family members of the deceased to identify the bodies. The team then took photographs and carried out paperwork before proceeding with the autopsy.

Doctors, who performed the first autopsy after the firing incident were asked to keep themselves away from the second post-mortem examination, arrangements for which were made by the Gandhi Hospital administration.

The AIIMS team performed X-ray examination on the bodies before commencing the second autopsy. This was to check whether there were any fractures on the bodies. After the X-ray, the procedure was video-graphed for submitting the same to the High Court.

After Monday’s post-mortem, the bodies were shifted to their native places. Two vehicles containing at least 10 policemen escorted the bodies to Jaklair and Gundigandla, the villages of Mohammed and the three others.

Gandhi Hospital Superintendent P. Sravan Kumar said, “The process for the post-mortem started at around 10 am and was completed by 3 pm A computer was also provided to the team. As per the directions of the HC, bodies were handed to the family and sent to their native places in two ambulances.”

Responding to a query, Dr Kumar said, “The team asked for the first post-mortem examination report, but it had been submitted to the court. The first PME was also video-graphed and submitted to the court. The bodies were kept at 2ºC to 4ºC . They were in frozen condition when handed over to the AIIMS team for post-mortem.”