New Delhi, December 26 
The Delhi Police today released the post-mortem report of Constable Subhash Chand Tomar saying he died due to injuries, while separately, the Union Home Ministry ordered a probe to establish if the police interfered when a woman sub divisional magistrate (SDM) was recording the statement of the 23-year old gang-rape victim.

The Home Ministry was reacting to Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit’s request for an independent probe after SDM Usha Chaturvedi complained that police officers had asked her to record the victim’s statement as per their questionnaire and that the police report based on the victim’s friend’s statement did not match the victim’s testimony.

The Delhi Police, at a press conference, said Tomar died of injuries on his chest, neck and stomach caused by a “blunt object”. The release of the post-mortem report, which ascertains his cause of death, has confirmed that Subhash was indeed attacked. 

Two eyewitnesses named -- Yogendra Tomar and Pauline -- told reporters that Tomar was not assaulted by protesters and had collapsed during the police crackdown at India Gate on December 23. The post- mortem conducted at Lady Hardinge Hospital contradicts the statement of Dr TS Sidhu, Medical Superintendent of Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital where Subhash Tomar was admitted and later died. He had said that Tomar didn’t have major injuries and had only minor ones after he had collapsed due to a heart attack.

Additional Commissioner of Police, New Delhi District, KC Dwivedi said, “The post-mortem report says the cause of Subhash’s death is due to injuries on his chest, neck and stomach, which he sustained by a blunt object. The injuries caused a heart attack that led to his death.”

The post-mortem report states, “Myocardial infarction and its complications that could be precipitated by multiple ante-mortem injuries to the neck and chest, produced by blunt force impact.” Dwivedi also said that the constable had sustained injuries on his ribs.

Yogendra, an eyewitness, was near Tomar during the clashes between the police and the protesters at India Gate. “I saw Subhash running behind the protesters along with two-three constables. He then held on to one of the policemen and just collapsed. I thought he was feeling dizzy. He was not hit by the protesters… they were way ahead of him. Another girl (named as Pauline) and I, along with some police officials, took him to hospital where he was admitted in the intensive care unit. There the doctors had unbuttoned his shirt and I didn’t see any injuries on his body,” Yogendra told reporters today.

The second eyewitness, Pauline, told reporters, “He had no injuries on him, but was sweating profusely.”

The Delhi Police Crime Branch is investigating Tomar’s death. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch), SBS Tyagi, after being asked about the contradictory statements made by the two witnesses, said, “We will question them. They are telling TV channels about the moment Subhash had fallen on the ground. We have to probe what happened before this. It was a situation of extensive violence. We will be examining video footage from cameras, which were taken by some of our personnel. And we will gather more evidence.”

A case of rioting, assaulting police officials and attempt to murder (in relation to Subhash) was registered at the Tilak Marg police station in connection with the violent protests at India Gate. Later, the police added the section of murder to this FIR. The investigation of this case has been handed over to the Delhi Police Crime Branch.