Salman Khan House Firing: Bombay HC Slams “Incomplete” Autopsy Report of Custodial Death

GG News Bureau
Mumbai, 23rd May. The Bombay High Court expressed strong dissatisfaction on Wednesday over the “incomplete” autopsy report of Anuj Thapan, an accused who died in police custody after being arrested in connection with a firing incident outside actor Salman Khan’s house.

A vacation bench of Justices N R Borkar and Somasekhar Sundaresan reviewed the post-mortem report and noted it lacked crucial information, such as a diagram of the ligature mark found on Thapan’s neck and details of any other injuries on his body.

The bench was hearing a petition from Rita Devi, Thapan’s mother, who alleged foul play in her son’s death, which occurred on May 1 inside the toilet of the lock-up of Mumbai police’s crime branch. Although the police claim Thapan committed suicide, Rita Devi’s petition, filed on May 3, seeks a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the matter, alleging he was physically assaulted and tortured in custody.

On Wednesday, additional public prosecutor Jayesh Yagnik presented a preliminary report on the state CID’s inquiry into Thapan’s death, along with the post-mortem report. The court remarked that while the report cited asphyxiation as the cause of death, it was missing essential details.

“Where is the diagram of the ligature mark? Is the ligature mark oblique in shape or round? Death by asphyxiation can also be because of strangling. It need not be because of hanging only,” the court observed.

The court further pointed out the absence of a column detailing other possible injuries on Thapan’s body, labeling the post-mortem report as incomplete. Yagnik assured that the investigating team would consult with the doctors involved to gather the necessary information.

The bench ordered a copy of the report to be handed over to the petitioner and scheduled further hearings for June.

Senior counsel Aabad Ponda, representing Salman Khan, requested the court to remove Khan’s name as a respondent in the plea, arguing that the actor was the victim in the firing incident. He stated that Khan had no connection to the accused or their motives and that including his name in the plea was damaging his reputation.

Devi’s advocate acknowledged that the petitioner was not currently seeking any relief against Khan. The court took note of this clarification.

The incident in question occurred on April 14, when two bike-borne individuals opened fire outside Salman Khan’s residence in Bandra. Vicky Gupta and Sagar Pal were subsequently arrested from Gujarat, and Thapan was apprehended on April 26 in Punjab along with another person. Out of the six individuals arrested in the case, Thapan is the only one who has died; four remain in judicial custody, while the fifth accused, arrested earlier this week, is in police custody.