Autopsy report: Bodies bore 56 bullet wounds

The five Chechens were shot from a close range of about 50 to 60 feet in the head, chest, abdomen, legs and backbone.

QUETTA:

The five Chechens bore 56 bullet wounds and were shot from a close range of about 50 to 60 feet, according to the autopsy report sent to the police on Monday.

Bolan Medical Complex Hospital’s police surgeon Dr Baqir Shah presented the report.

“They were shot in the head, chest, abdomen, legs and the backbone. Doctors have extracted 21 bullets from the bodies,” said Dr Shah. “The bodies bore multiple marks of burns but I am not sure whether burn injuries were caused by an explosion or by firing. Metallic pieces were also extracted from the bodies but it is also unclear whether these pieces came from an explosion.”

The doctor said the women were not sexually assaulted.

The locals of Kharotabad claimed that the foreigners were unarmed and had talked with the residents before approaching the FC check post where they were gunned down.

Video footage has been released of the dubious encounter, with officials, eyewitnesses and doctors giving contradictory statements.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 24^th, 2011.