More than four years after a man from Tirunelveli district was found dead under mysterious circumstances in his room in Gujarat, the Madras High Court bench here has ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the case.
Petitioner P. Dorai, a doctor, said that his younger brother P. Prakash was working as a manager with the Reliance Engineering Associates at Jamnagar in Gujarat. On January 21, 2009, Mr. Prakash was found dead. Following an autopsy, the Jamnagar police informed the family that Mr Prakash died due to brain haemorrhage caused by shock.
Not satisfied with the investigation conducted by the Jamnagar police, Mr Dorai registered a complaint with the Palayamkottai police. A fresh post-mortem was conducted on the corpse of Mr Prakash at the Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital on January 23, 2009, the petitioner told the court. The second post-mortem report indicated that Mr Prakash died of poisoning, he added.
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Mr Dorai blamed the Jamnagar police for failing to conduct a proper primary investigation. The neighbours of Mr Prakash were not examined and the calls he made before his death were not investigated, he pointed out. According to Mr Dorai, the Palayamkottai police were unable to conduct a proper investigation because it had to be done in Gujarat. Therefore, he pleaded for a CBI probe into his brother’s death.
Justice T.S. Sivagnanam said, “It is a fit case where the investigation has to be done by the CBI, as that alone will provide credibility and instil confidence in the investigation.” The investigation was transferred to the CBI, with directions to Tamil Nadu and the Gujarat governments to provide assistance to the CBI.