Ghatkopar couple’s death: Will police bungling trash yet another case?

Crucial viscera and blood samples collected in the mysterious Ghatkopar couple death case have been lying in the Pant Nagar police station for five days The samples were not accepted by the Maharashtra State Forensic Science Laboratory FSL at Kalina last week as the police had not sent the provisional postmortem report along with themThis has once again exposed the lackadaisical attitude of the police with regard to using forensics as an investigative tool Neither the forensic surgeon who conducted the autopsy at the Rajawadi postmortem centre nor scientific experts from the FSL were called to study the scene of the incident to dateSample to be sent todayThe couple Deepak and Tina Shah was found dead in the bathroom of their rented flat at Kukreja Palace Ghatkopar East on March 8 The visceral samples will now be sent on Tuesday confirmed Ravidatta Sawant senior police inspector Pant Nagar police stationShocked neighbours gather in the compound following the news of the couplersquos deaths PicRajesh GuptaldquoWe had sent the visceral and blood samples last week to FSL Kalina but they refused to accept them without a provisional postmortem report On Monday March 13 we got the provisional report around 330 pm but samples are collected at the FSL only till 4 pm and there was no point in sending the same on Monday Hence we have decided to send them on Tuesdayrdquo said SawantAlso Read Mumbai Bodies of couple found in Ghatkopar flat bathroomA source attached to the Rajawadi postmortem centre stated ldquoThe provisional cause of death certificate citing the reason as lsquoopinion reserved viscera preservedrsquo was issued on the day the autopsy was performed and on the basis of this certificate the cremation would have happened It is surprising that the police did not have the copy until Monday as they have claimedrdquoForensic surgeon Dr Bale Patil conducted the autopsy and had preserved the visceral and blood samples for toxicology and chemical analysis at the FSL to detect a possible drug overdose or poisoning Samples were also sent for a histopathological test to JJ hospital to rule out an underlying health issue if anyrdquoAsked if the medical officer letter was issued the same day for submission to the laboratories the source replied in affirmative stating that the sealed bottles and covering letter were issued the same dayAutopsy not photographedThe police did not insist on the carrying out of photography or videography during the course of postmortem which ideally they should have asked for as these photographs are the only evidence left with the investigators as the bodies have been cremated that can be used for corroboration and seeking further expert opinions to rule out any future claims Interestingly according to the autopsy surgeons the deceased had no external or internal injuriesAsked if the police requested the scene of the incident to be analysed by the forensic surgeon who conducted the autopsy and experts from the FSL Sawant replied in negativeldquoThe forensic surgeon who conducted the autopsy was shown the photograph of the scene of the incident which was taken soon after the police arrived at the spot And if he wished or felt the need he could have visited the placerdquo said SawantHe continued ldquoAs far as investigation is concerned we have not made any headway On Monday an MGL and Adani team visited the scene of the incident and carried out an extensive study to rule out if there was any source of a gas leak or electrical issue but nothing came out of itrdquoldquoWe have registered an accidental death report under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973rdquo he addedExpertsrsquo opinionsB B Daundkar former director Maharashtra State Forensic Science Laboratory Kalina said ldquoIn such a highprofile case where the cause of death is not clear the police and the forensic surgeon should take utmost care to call forensic scientists to study and analyse the scene of the incident for collection of scientific vital clues which could help in the solving the mystery behind such suspicious deaths Secondly the samples must be sent immediately for toxicological analysis to rule out any overdose of drugsalcohol or poisoningrdquoAsked if the samples collected might be impacted by external humidity and the rise in temperature Daundkar replied in negative and said ldquoThe visceral and blood samples are usually preserved using preservatives and the glass jars are usually sealed by the autopsy surgeon to prevent any tampering or contamination The police role is minimal and that of a courier to hand over the sample collected from the postmortem centre to the FSLrdquoDaundkar suggested that the policersquos courier role should be minimised and replaced by using a mobile forensic science laboratory that will visit the scene of the incident collect evidence as well as visceral samples from the autopsy centre and immediately deliver the same to the FSL in a controlled environmentAmol Deshmukh faculty of forensic science and technical advisor to the home department said ldquoEarly hours of scientific investigation by visiting the scene of an incident is very crucial to decide the path of the caserdquoHe added ldquoThe police are fully aware of the procedure and chain of requirements to be followed while submitting biological and visceral samples after the postmortem is conducted It is unfortunate that despite being experienced hands the police forreasons best known to them continue to repeat such mistakes which only derail the investigation process and leave the mystery behind deaths unresolvedrdquo13Day in March when cops claim they got report