National

“Forensic report alone can mention range of firing”

Mumbai: The post mortem report on Rahul Raj Kundan Prasad Singh, the Patna youth who was shot dead by the Mumbai police aboard a BEST bus on October 27, “does not mention blackening,” Rakesh Maria, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime), told journalists here on Thursday.

He was referring to the report, which has been submitted to the Crime branch by a four-member team of doctors from the J.J. Hospital.

There were reports in the media — following an interview with B. G. Chikhalkar, associate professor of forensic medicine in the hospital, who was part of the autopsy team — that Rahul was shot from close range.

However, the hospital Dean, B. M. Sabnis, quoting Dr. Chikhalkar who met him, said he had not made any statement to that effect.

Clearing the confusion over ‘close range’, Mr. Maria said there was no question of the range being specified in a post mortem report; that was a forensic procedure.

“The skin around the entry points of the bullets will be taken for forensic analysis to determine the distance from where the shots were fired. We are writing to the forensic laboratory to conduct the test.”

Of the 13 bullets fired at Rahul, five hit him, Mr. Maria said. There were five entry points — two in the scalp and one each in the chest, trunk and ear. Meanwhile, the process of recording witness statements is on. Mr. Maria said the statements of the eyewitnesses, including the bus conductor, 12 passengers, shopkeepers, pedestrians, beat marshals, police officers involved in the incident were being recorded.

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