Date:14/09/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/09/14/stories/2008091454690600.htm

Tamil Nadu

Woman moves court to exhume her son’s body

Staff Reporter

Suspects foul play in his death, seeks fresh post-mortem

MADURAI: A 70-year-old woman from Muthupillayur in Manaparai taluk of Tiruchi district has moved the Madras High Court Bench here seeking a direction to exhume her son’s body for conducting a fresh post-mortem.

Justice K. Chandru directed the Additional Government Pleader to take notice on behalf of the Home Secretary, Director General of Police, Superintendent of Police, CB-CID and the Dean of the Government Medical College at Milaguparai in Tiruchi. According to the petitioner, P. Maruthai, her fourth son P. Soundararajan (39), an ex-serviceman, left their house on April 7, 2008 to meet his estranged wife at the latter’s maternal home. He did not return thereafter and his wife too was not aware of his whereabouts.

On April 23, a Tamil daily carried a news report of an unidentified body found near Vagaikulam tank in Kannudaiyanpatti village. The petitioner approached the Manaparai police, who informed that the body was found on April 9.

Wife of the deceased saw the photographs of the body and confirmed that it was her husband. However, the police stated that the corpse was buried on April 13 itself as nobody came forward to claim it on time.

The petitioner’s family was told that the head of the deceased alone was removed and preserved at a Government Hospital mortuary for conducting superimposition test. Yet, “The police could not show the head portion of the body of my son,” she said.

Alleging that she had to run from pillar to post even to obtain the post-mortem certificate, the petitioner suspected foul play in the death of her son. The aged mother wanted the court to constitute a team of doctors, including forensic experts, to dig up her son’s body and conduct a fresh post-mortem. She also sought transfer of investigation in the case to the CB-CID.