IIT Kharagpur 'suicide': Calcutta High Court passes rare order of exhuming Faizan Ahmed’s body

Calcutta: On Tuesday, April 25, the Calcutta High Court passed a rare order that called for the exhumation of the IIT Kharagpur student, Faizan Ahmed, from an Assam burial ground to conduct a second post-mortem at the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital.

The decision was issued after the court reviewed a preliminary report written by Ajay Gupta, a forensic medicine specialist hired by the court on February 20, 2023, to conduct a forensic investigation into the death of the student.

According to media reports, the court in its order stated that the procedure was "vital and necessary for determining the truth." The court noted that the student's family had also agreed to the body's exhumation.

The decomposed body of 23-year-old Faizan Ahmed, who hailed from Assam's Tinsukia, was found in his room on October 14, 2022. The college administration said that the student died by suicide while the family claimed that he was murdered.

Ahmed's mother alleged that he could not have died by suicide and demanded a proper investigation, the institute claimed that no foul play was suspected and said it was looking into the circumstances leading to the death.

According to an NDTV report, the high court stated that the victim's body had two visible injuries on the back of his head which were not mentioned in the initial post-mortem report.

The court also noted that the police had found a chemical called Emplura (sodium nitrate), which is used to preserve meat, from the scene of the crime, as per NDTV.

Few months before his death, Faizan was also reportedly ragged at the IIT. The student had refused to join an “assimilation programme” at the institute which is a farce for collective ragging, claimed his parents.