Chennai: Acting on a petition filed by a women alleging that the Sri Lankan Navy had shot dead her fisherman-husband and tried to pass off the incident as drowning, the Madras High Court (Madurai Bench) has ordered a fresh postmortem on his body.
Raj Kiran, a fisherman from Pudukottai district in Tamil Nadu had ventured into the sea along with two others on October 18 for fishing. The Sri Lankan Navy had later said that the boat had crossed the International Maritime Border and entered the Island Nation’s waters. They claimed that when they tried to escape their boat collided with the Navy vessel and the in the impact, Kiran had fallen into the sea and drowned. His body was retrieved and after a postmortem at the Jaffna Medical Hospital it was handed over to the Indian authorities. The body was brought to India and buried.
Kiran’s wife Brindha moved the court alleging that other fishermen had seen him being shot dead by the Sri Lankan Navy. She said that Sri Lanka had not handed over the postmortem report. Kiran’s body had born injury marks. Besides, she said that the Indian authorities did not allow her to take the body home and instead it was taken to the burial ground where it was buried. Hence she sought a probe and fresh postmortem.
Allowing her plea, Justice G R Swaminathan said since the fisherman’s wife had raised apprehensions about the circumstances under which her husband died, it was the duty of the State to ally the same. Hence he directed the Pudukottai district administration to exhume Kiran’s body on November 18. A team of experts must conduct a fresh postmortem at the site itself in the presence of the forensic scientist, representing the petitioner, and reburied.
The judge said the fresh postmortem report must be submitted to the court and adjourned the case to November 24.
