Samir Sharma
Once bitten twice shy — the city police and the forensic department have taken forensic lapses in the Disha Salian and Sushant Singh Rajput deaths reported by this paper, seriously and are taking more meticulous steps in the case of actor Samir Sharma's death. He was found hanging in his rented flat in Malad on Thursday.
Highly placed sources told mid-day, "Malad police had to take help from the fire brigade to break open the door to Sharma's flat. The body was hanging from a hook in the kitchen."
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Sharma's sister Shamu Gupta and her husband, Kabir, arrived from Bengaluru to record statements on Friday. Sharma's body was kept at the mortuary at Shatabdi hospital, Kandivli. The body tested negative for COVID-19.
Samir Sharma
Police surgeon Dr S M Patil directed his forensic doctors at Siddarth Hospital's postmortem centre in Goregaon to form a team, collect all samples from the body during the autopsy and from the house, and to record and photograph the whole procedure.
The Malad police worked closely with the two forensic surgeons who visited the crime scene and collected all the required samples. A mobile forensic laboratory from the State Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), Kalina reached the first-floor house at Neha apartment, Malad West.
It is learnt that the actor lived in a small one-room kitchen house that was in a shabby condition and appeared as if it had not been cleaned in a long time.
Strips of tablets found in the house have been collected for analysis. Sharma allegedly hung himself in the kitchen using a wire. Leftover food, some of it rotting, dirty utensils were also found in the kitchen.
Sushant Singh Rajput
Sources said that during the autopsy, maggots too were found in the body, a result of decomposition. The forensic surgeons preserved blood, nail clippings, and viscera, which will be sent to the State FSL.
Prima facie, the case is of suicide as the actor had financial troubles. His sister Shamu has given a detailed narrative about the actor's medical condition in her statement to the police.
'Working closely with FSL'
Dr Patil, who is also the medico-legal advisor to the state, said, "It is a good move and we will ensure that all protocols are followed in unnatural deaths. As always, directives are being issued time and again to work closely with the police and FSL team."
Dr Shailesh Mohite, president of Medicolegal Association of Maharashtra, said, "It is a good beginning with effective coordination between police, forensic surgeons and the FSL. This coordination, which is crucial for the success of the criminal justice system, should be embedded in daily practice so that lapses seen in Disha and Sushant's cases are not repeated."
Disha Salian's residence in Malad West from where she jumped to her death. Pic/Shadab Khan
Dr Rajesh Dhere, secretary of the association, said, "It is a good move, however, I hope that while conducting crime scene investigations, all crucial, minute evidence is collected, properly preserved, sealed and sent immediately to the FSL with the investigating police officer. And in cases which are complex, at least a professor of government/civic medical college should be made part of the forensic team."
The Malad police have registered an Accidental Death Report under Section 174 (suicide) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
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