Ludhiana mystery: Murder or suicide, post-mortem inconclusive

The recovery of a highly decomposed body of a migrant worker from a secluded area at Bramanmajra village in Ludhiana has left many questions answered.

As per the police probe, deceased Dhiraj Kumar allegedly ended his life by suicide. He had gone missing on October 5. Since the tree was located in a secluded area near the southern bypass road along the Sidhwan Canal, body went unnoticed for 22 days, it said.

The Ludhiana police have initiated inquest proceedings in the case. The medical examination conducted by a board of doctors does not clearly say whether the man died by suicide or it was a case of murder. Doctors are relying on the viscera report that will arrive in two-three months to know the exact cause of death.

Although the place where the body was found falls in the jurisdiction of the Sahnewal police station, it transferred the probe to the Miller Ganj police post since a missing person complaint was lodged by deceased’s family there. On being asked to clarify on the cause of death, Sahnewal police station SHO Inspector Jagdev Singh said the case was being probed by the Miller Ganj police.

“The area is secluded and the stretch belongs to the Forest Department. Very few people use that katcha road for commuting. Still it’s surprising that the body went unnoticed for 22 days. Strong stench was emanating from the highly decomposed body, still nobody came to know about that,” villagers said.

Raising questions over the functioning of the Sahnewal police, they said there was hardly any patrolling in by police personnel that area.

A doctor (a forensic expert) who conducted the post-mortem examination said, “The body was infested by maggots. All organs had decomposed. Even the tissue cells, which we usually examine to ascertain the cause of death, had been eaten by maggots. Due to that reason, the board of doctors could not ascertain whether it was a case of death by suicide or a murder.”

“We didn’t notice any injury on the skull or other body parts. That may rule out the murder angle, but to know the exact reason of death, we have sent viscera samples to the Kharar forensic laboratory. The report, likely to be received in 2-3 months, will bring out the truth,” he added.

Investigating Officer Sub-Inspector Sunil Kumar said, “It seems to be a case of suicide. There is no circumstantial evidence hinting at murder.”