The controversial killing of a Bihari youth by police in a BEST bus had a new twist on Thursday with a forsensic doctor saying he may have been shot at from a close range only to retract his finding later in a case that has triggered an uproar in Bihar over his death.
"Near one of the bullet wounds found in the head, we found marks of gunpowder which indicate he(Rahul Raj) may have been shot from a close distance but it cannot be said how close," Dr B G Chikalkar, associate professor of forensic medicine at the J J Hospital, said in a finding that could potentially stoke further tension after Bihar leaders and the youth's parents cried foul after the police action.
But a few hours later, the Hospital Dean Dr B M Sabnis claimed that Dr Chikalkar, who was one of the four doctors involved in the autopsy on the 23-year-old youth, had written to him that he has retracted his statement.
In the wake of Dr Chikalkar's first statement, which was on camera, police also swung into an apparent damage control act disagreeing with the doctor's contention that bullet wounds on the youth's body had blackening around them.
Blackening of wounds suggested shots were fired at a close range, Chikalkar had earlier said.
"We received the post-mortem report today in which there is no mention of blackening of skin around bullet entry wounds," said Joint Commissioner of Police Rakesh Maria.
The skin around the five entry wounds has been taken and will be sent to the Kalina forensic laboratory for analysis after which the distance from which bullets were fired can be ascertained, Maria told reporters.
The finding reported by the doctor on the possibility of Rahul being shot at close range gave the victim's family in Patna fresh ammunition to attack the Maharashtra government saying their stand has been justified.
Rahul was killed by Police when he tried to take passengers in a double-decker bus hostage at gun point in Mumbai on October 27 in a bid to send a strong message to MNS Chief Raj Thackeray in the backdrop of the anti-north Indian campaign by his outfit.
Post-mortem report says that Raj sustained five bullet wounds, two in the skull, one in the ear, one in the chest and one in the trunk, Maria said.
Chikalkar refused to comment on whether the bullet had been fired at the gunman at a point blank range.
The incident triggered an outcry in Bihar with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD leader and Railways minister Lalu Yadav as well as the boy's parents saying the youth could have been captured. They also demanded a judicial probe.
"I have been saying from day one that my son was captured and then shot from point blank range. The forensic report of the J J hospital, Mumbai, has vindicated my stand. The Centre should now now dismiss the Maharashtra government," the youth's father K P Singh told media persons in Patna.
The victim's sister Priyanka Raj claimed that 'from the beginning it was clear that it is a fake encounter'.
"No action yet has been taken on the policemen. They have not been suspended and arrested," she said.
The BJP meanwhile demanded CBI inquiry into the killing following the finding first made by Chikalkar.
"The postmortem report and the comments of the medical experts clearly indicates there was foul play in the killing of the youth. Our party demands a CBI inquiry into the incident so that the truth is known," party spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy told media persons in New Delhi.
