Daijiworld Media Network - Honnavar
Honnavar, Dec 11: The IGP Western Range Hemant Nimbalkar in a press release has put various rumours regarding the death of Honnavar youth Paresh Mesta to rest.
Nimbalkar released a report from Dr Shankar M Bakkannavar, associate professor at the department of forensic medicine at the Kasturba Medical College, Manipal. The forensic science expert has answered 19 questions in which he has asserted that there was no external or internal injury caused by weapons, no torture and no strangulation or haemorrhage. There was no evidence of blood on the deceased, nor was there any evidence of being strangled, the doctor said.
The report however mentions two injuries, and that one could have been caused by blunt force. "There are no evidences of injuries caused by weapons over the body of the deceased. The external injury no 1 (abrasion) and external injury no 1 (abrasion) mentioned in the postmortem report could be caused by blunt force trauma," the doctor said in the letter.
The IGP has lashed out against a political party, without naming any but obviously referring to the BJP which called for bandh on Monday December 11, for issuing press release and sharing it to media without authenticating facts regarding Paresh’s death.
"An official press release dated 9/12/2017 was issued by a political party with respect to death of Paresh Mesta through which blatantly false information without any authentication was shared to media and public. Through various absolutely false social media messages based on the press release, a deliberate attempt is made to divide the society on communal lines and flare the communal sentiments for personal gains," he said.
"The investigation officer has received the reply to the questions which brings out the actual truth. The report has clearly demolished the false claims made through the press note and various social media messages," the IGP asserted.
He warned that action will be initiated as per law against people who have abetted the communal incidences at Honnavar including assault on public servants at Kumta on Monday.
What the autopsy indicates
A picture of Paresh's dead body, with his blackened face, had been widely circulated on social media. When asked whether the change in colour of the face was due to assault, the expert said that it was only due to putrefaction (process of decay of a body). The report also denies that a tattoo on the deceased's body was removed. It says, "There is a tattoo mark present over the front of right forearm, 7cm above the wrist, depicting a picture of Shivaji and Maratha written in Hindi."
Paresh Mesta
Earlier, BJP district president K G Naik had alleged, “He had a ‘Jai Shri Ram’ tattoo on his hand, and the skin had been ripped off." The report also denied other rumours that people had urinated into his mouth and that he had been castrated.
The mutilation of Mesta's private parts was caused by putrefaction as mentioned in the postmortem report, the letter states.