Bhandara deaths: Cops drain well to look for evidence

Following Saturdayrsquos dummy test that proved a total washout lsquoCops attempt dummy testrsquo March 5 MiD DAY Bhandara cops yesterday decided to dig deeper Police drained the well in which the bodies of three minor girls were found on February 16 in the hope of finding used condoms or at least empty packets of the contraceptive but to no avail The operation was aimed at examining the sexual assault angle which the police have been consistently following despite forensic findings not upholding it The postmortem room at Bhandara General Hospital Earlier it was revealed that the bodies of the girls were kept in the open for more than 17 hours at the hospital before an autopsy was conducted ldquoWe hoped to get some clue after flushing out the water But though our men entered into the muck and searched conscientiously we found no clues We have detained three more people residing in and around Lakhani Village on suspicion and they are being interrogatedrdquo said Special Inspector General of police Nagpur Range Rajendra Singh Second opinion When asked if they are still probing the sexual assault angle he replied in the affirmative and said ldquoAt present we have no option but to follow the findings of the first postmortem But once we have the second opinion in writing we would decide accordingly what the focus of the investigation should berdquo Meanwhile Dr PD Dixit professor and head of department Government Medical College Nagpur said ldquoWe are still awaiting the findings of FSL Nagpur and other evidences that the police have collected to form an opinion But till now cops have not submitted anything before usrdquo When MiD DAY asked Dr Dixit if he and his team had gone through the video footage of the autopsy conducted at Bhandara General Hospital he assented but said he was not sure about the sexual assault theory Rs 6 lakh wasted Inquires by MiD DAY have revealed that Bhandara General Hospital where the bodies of the girls were kept in the open for more than 17 hours before an autopsy was conducted lsquoImproper storage led to bodiesrsquo decayrsquo March 4 MiD DAY had spent nearly Rs 6 lakh for procuring a steel cabinet to preserve corpses However so far the trays have been used only four to five times Baiju Kuldeep 57 who has been in his unique profession since 1978 and is employed with the institute has cut over 15000 bodies ldquoThe three bodies did not show any external decomposition when brought here in the evening of February 16 But as the police did not submit the inquest panchnama the corpses were kept on the postmortem table and even the panel of five doctors was present The eldest girlrsquos body was kept on one table and the other two together on another table Around 1130 pm I was informed by the civil surgeon that the postmortem would be done the next morning Since neither the police nor the civil surgeon asked me to keep the bodies in the trays for cooling I did not Cops in large numbers were guarding the postmortem room from outsiderdquo According Baiju when he came to the postmortem room the next morning the bodies were in advanced stages of decomposition ldquoA little after 1255 pm when the inquest panchnama was prepared I was asked by the gynaecologist to cut open the bodies and I followed the instructionsrdquo he said Amateur hour When asked how he could ascertain that the bodies were showing signs of decomposition Baiju said ldquoAs I was about to cut open a body the skin started peeling off I was told by the gynaecologist to insert my finger and confirm if there was a hymen tear I refused arguing that since she was the doctor she should be doing it The doctor herself then did the finger testrdquo ldquoHad the police and civil surgeon granted permission to preserve the bodies in the mortuary cabinet I could have kept them there and prevented the decay I have cut many bodies in my career but have never come across such a caserdquo he told MiD DAY When asked why he did not order for the bodies to be preserved instead of waiting for police the panchnama acting civil surgeon Dr Rushi Chahande said ldquoI did the best I could while following procedures I am not a medicolegal expert but a radiologistrdquo u00a0