Drawing conclusions: Police rule out murder despite severe injuries

Experts say if autopsy has established unnatural death, police should investigate the matter

LAHORE: The autopsy report in respect of a 12-year-old boy found lying dead in a parking lot at Data Darbar says that his death was caused by sudden and severe damage to the spinal cord. Bhati Gate police have ruled out murder and disposed of the case. They say the deceased must have been under the influence when he fell and died on May 9. There is no need to investigate the matter further, they say.

The boy was buried on June 6 after an autopsy was performed at Mayo Hospital’s mortuary. The autopsy report sent to the Bhati Gate police on June 9 stated that the child had suffered from trauma before his death. The report said the head of the deceased was swollen above the ear on one side. It said there were fractures in the skull bones and spinal cord. The other injury was a bruise on the child’s thigh above the knee. The report also said that his nose was bleeding.

SI Nawaz, who dealt with the body, said he had attributed the child’s death to natural causes and buried him before autopsy report became available. He said it was usual for the police to find addicts’ bodies in the vicinity of the Darbar. He said he had not noticed any injury on the body. “He must have fallen on the roadside and died,” he said. Some shopkeepers in the vicinity who had identified the deceased said he was a beggar who frequented the area and ate at soup kitchens arranged by visitors.

Legal Affairs DSP Muhammad Irfan said the findings of the autopsy needed to be taken into consideration during investigation of the case. However, he said police could not proceed with an investigation unless relatives of the deceased were available to pursue the matter. They would investigate the case if a complaint was lodged about it, he said.

Criminal law expert Usman Cheema dismissed the explanation. He said once the autopsy report suggested that the death had not been from natural causes the police should have registered a case on their own and investigated the matter. “If a cognisable offence is established, the police can investigate the matter on their own,” he said. He said if the police found the autopsy report unsatisfactory, they were required under the law to explain their reasons.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 9^th, 2015.