Updated: October 5, 2020 7:02:16 am
The funeral pyre of Hathras’s victim, hours later. (Express photo: Amil Bhatnagar)
The Medical Director of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Jawaharlal Nehru College of Medicine, where the 19-year-old Hathras victim was admitted for two weeks, told The Indian Express that the FSL report – on which the Uttar Pradesh police have relied to say that she was not raped – “has no value”.
“The samples were collected 11 days later the woman was allegedly raped, while government guidelines strictly say that forensic evidence can only be found up to 96 hours after the incident. This report cannot confirm the violation in this incident, ”Dr. Azeem Malik, CMO, told The Indian Express.
The Dalit woman had been assaulted, allegedly by four upper-caste men, on September 14, and was able to provide details of the alleged sexual assault after she regained consciousness at the AMU hospital on September 22. , the police had added relevant rape sections to the FIR.
Read also | Hathras gangrape: ‘We are Dalits, that is our sin … We want our children to leave’
Following his statement, samples were sent to the Forensic Sciences Laboratory, which received them between September 25 and 11 days after the attack. It was based on this FSL report that the UP Police claimed that the woman was not raped. At a press conference on Thursday, Prashant Kumar, ADG (Law & Order), had said: “According to the FSL (forensic science laboratory) report, no semen or sperm secretion was found in the viscera sample. The post-mortem report indicates that the cause of death was due to the trauma caused by the assault. Despite the statements of the officials, misinformation was spread in the media ”.
On October 3, the Department of Forensic Medicine at Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College wrote to the circle officer of the Sadabad Police Station in Hathras with the subject “Final opinion in response to your letter.” Signed by adjunct professor Dr. Faiz Ahmad and president Dr. Saeed, it issued a “final opinion” with reference to the circle officer’s letter “and the FSL report,” stating that “there are no signs suggesting sexual intercourse. vaginal / anal “and” there are no evidences of physical aggression (injuries to the neck and back) ”.
Dr. Hamza Malik, president of the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College of Medical Resident Association, called the FSL report “unreliable.”
Read also | Hathras gangrape: ‘My daughter said she wanted to go home … She was conscious again, I thought she would survive’
“How will the FSL team find evidence of rape 11 days later? Sperm do not survive after 2-3 days. Hair, clothing, nail bed and vaginal-anal orifice samples were taken; The samples may not show the presence of semen due to urination, defecation and menstruation. “
On September 22, a doctor had conducted a medico-legal investigation on the woman and issued a “provisional opinion” that “based on a local examination, I am of the opinion that there are indications of use of force”, according to reports. The doctor had added: “However, the opinion on penetrative intercourse is reserved pending the availability of the FSL reports.”
The September 22 report also mentioned, based on details provided by the woman, that there was “complete penetration” by the penis from the “vagina.”
The report said, based on the details provided by her, that she was “gagged” and “strangled by dupatta.” The section of the report, verbal threats, mentions: “Yes, death threat.” The report also mentions the “aggressors” as “Sandeep, Ramu, Luv Kush, Ravi”.
The post-mortem report of the Safdarjung Hospital woman had also indicated that her “hymen showed multiple old healed tears” and that the “anal opening showed old healed tears.”
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