Flawed autopsy makes murder into suicide
Flawed autopsy reports submitted by investigating officers to the court merely often make murder seem like suicide, according to a report of Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI).
The PBI report says the forensic reports of dead bodies clearly state marks of injuries. In some incidents, surroundings also indicate the evidence of murder. But investigating officers did not take all these matters into account. Incidents earlier called suicide were often later found to be murder.
The investigation organisation PBI submitted a report of 10 incidents of such murders to the police headquarters.
Analysing the report, Prothom Alo found police often did not carry out any investigation of a murder. Due to political influence, bribes, negligence and partiality, police has submitted reports of suicide rather than murder.
Experts said it is a failure of investigation to declare suicide despite clear evidence of murder.
Former inspector general of police (IGP) Nurul Huda said, "It seems the investigating officers and physicians are influenced. Bribes may be exchanged. It is a flaw of the entire system. Those who are involved in the process should be brought to book."
Police recovered a body identified as Anisur Rahman from a residence at Chawk Bazar in the capital on 23 June in 2010. After an autopsy at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, physicians stated that Anisur Rahman had committed suicide. Members of the police, detective branch (DB) of police and Criminal Investigation Department (CID) made a similar observation.
As Anisur Rahman's brother Jahangir Mia, plaintiff of the case, rejected the investigation report for the third time, the court ordered PBI to carry out further investigation. After five years, the PBI investigation unearthed that Anisur Rahman was killed due to a love affair. Two accused persons arrested in connection with the incident gave confessional statements before the court. PBI Dhaka Metropolitan police super Abul Kalam Azad said there were stab marks and evidence of bleeding on the back of his head, three stab marks on the left thigh and a bruise on the left of his chest. These were also mentioned in the forensic report. A bloodstained chisel was left on the spot. But physicians who carried out autopsy and the investigation officers did not consider these. Without carrying out autopsy properly, physicians said ti was suicide.
The forensic report of the body of housemaid Sumaia
Akhtar Farhana from Sreepur, Gazipur, pointed to different injuries on her body. According to the autopsy report, Sumaia committed suicide. Accordingly, police submitted the investigation report to the court as an incident of suicide.
Nilufar Akhtar Bakhara, 25, mother of three, was throttled to death by her brother-in-law in Sreenagar of Munsiganj on 11 February 2016. Following the autopsy and other reports, physicians at Sir Salimullah Medical College said she committed suicide. Police and CID in their reports mentioned the incident as suicide. Later PBI investigation found her brother-in-law throttled her to death after failing to rape her.
Mizanur Rahman, a second-year student at Islamic history department of Rajshahi University, was choked to death. His girlfriend Sumaia Nasrin was suffocated to death with a pillow after being raped. But according to the autopsy report, Mizanur committed suicide. The rape of Sumaia was not confirmed through DNA test.
According to PBI, physicians involved in carrying out autopsy are highly dependent on morgue assistants. The autopsy report is changed under influence of different influential people while senior physicians do not participate in the autopsy for fear of becoming witnesses. Additional deputy inspector general at PBI, Mainul Islam said good quality equipment has to be utilised for the autopsy report. Physicians involved in carrying out the autopsy report should be given financial incentives, he said.
Chairman of the forensic medicine department of Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital and president of Medicolegal Society of Bangladesh, Selim Reza observed physicians are influenced by political and influential quarters.
Deputy inspector general of CID, Bhanu Lal Das, said physicians should not give any opinion as to whether a person was killed or committed suicide. "The physicians will tell the cause of death. Police will dig out murder or suicide."
*This report, originally published in Prothom Alo print edition, has been rewritten in English by Rabiul Islam.