The public interest over the recent custodial death of Tamir Jifri at the Tanur police station and the subsequent investigation into it has had a twist on Saturday, with the police raising a finger of accusation against the forensic surgeon who led the post-mortem of the victim on August 1.
The post-mortem report was an indictment of police brutality. The report mentioned that all wounds and contusions that Tamir had suffered were from police torture. Pushed to a corner, a section within the police has raised the allegation that Hitesh Shankar, professor of Forensic Medicine at Government Medical College Hospital, Manjeri, had an axe to grind against the police.
Apart from blaming Dr. Shankar, the police also said that Tamir had died of a heart attack following heavy consumption of drugs.
However, the police accusation has startled the medical team that conducted the post-mortem. “The post-mortem was done by a whole team of doctors, and the whole process was videographed and photographed for documentation purpose. I have been in this profession for over two decades, and raising an allegation of vindictiveness against me is so flippant. I have been practising a noble profession. I will never surrender its noble stature,” said Dr. Shankar.
He told The Hindu that flimsy personal allegations would only help shift focus out of a serious issue, the custodial death. He said a section of the media had misinterpreted his responses. “Unlike what has been broadcast in some channels, neither the District Police Chief nor the DySP had intervened in the post-mortem process at any time,” said Dr. Shankar.
He added that it was the responsibility of a progressive society to bring an end to custodial deaths. “The police have the wherewithal to investigate any case scientifically. And, they are capable of doing it,” he said.
Meanwhile, Tanur DySP V.V. Benny is learnt to have requested the higher-ups to remove him from the investigation into the Muttil tree felling case. According to Mr. Benny, he was being targeted on social media by linking him directly with Tamir’s death.
