By Martin Shwenk Leade
Copyright indiatimes
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Police in UP’s Sambhal have uncovered what they call an “autopsy mafia” — a network of doctors, pharmacists and morgue staff accused of altering or erasing postmortem reports to shield murder accused or frame innocents. In several cases, signs of struggle were removed, causes of death changed, or entire files made to disappear — all for Rs 50,000. Four people have been arrested, multiple cases are under investigation, and at least 31 illegal health facilities have been sealed across districts. Postmortem reports often determine the trajectory of a criminal case, particularly in hangings, strangulations, and custodial deaths. “Courts rely on these documents with immense trust,” senior Allahabad high court lawyer SFA Naqvi told TOI. “Once a body is cremated, you can’t go back. If the first report is false, there’s no second chance for justice.” Police say the tipping point came in June this year, when pharmacist Madhur Arya at the Bahjoi community health centre was arrested for allegedly taking Rs 50,000 to tweak the autopsy report of a 19-year-old woman. Investigators later uncovered chats, scanned reports, voice notes and payment records tied to multiple cases. One such case was Suman’s death, where police had marked injuries across her body, but the autopsy cited only hanging. The report was later found on Arya’s accomplice and ward boy Yash Sharma’s phone, prompting police to reopen the case. Earlier, a case involving Neksi Devi and her husband Satvir Kumar highlighted how autopsy findings could alter lives. The couple, dailywage labourers from Setua village, were arrested in 2023 for the alleged murder of Santveer Singh after an autopsy cited strangulation. They maintained it was suicide. A later medical board termed the cause “inconclusive,” but the couple had already spent almost two years in jail. “In these years, we sold everything,” Neksi told TOI. “We’ve run up a debt of Rs 10 lakh. Even the roof over our head — we might lose that too.” Another case shows the impact of missing reports. “In 2021, my father, Ramvir Singh, was found dead. When I reached the Sambhal district hospital, the postmortem had already been conducted. During cremation, we saw bruises across the disfigured face,” said Satyavir Singh. “He didn’t die in his sleep. They hanged him. It was written on his skin.” When he asked for the report, it had vanished. Though negligence charges were filed against three doctors and a sweeper, and an FIR was lodged against three suspects, the accused continue to roam free. “I’ve done everything I can,” Satyavir said. “But how do you fight something that’s been made to disappear?”Live Events Police officials admit the scale of the problem. “The contradiction between scene evidence and autopsy findings was too stark to ignore,” Sambhal ASP Anukriti Sharma told TOI. “That case made us question how many other reports had been quietly altered.” To counter tampering, sensitive postmortems are now being reviewed by the State Medico-Legal Council. Sharma cited the case of Manesh Singh, found hanging in 2024. The initial report suggested “antemortem strangulation” and murder charges followed, but the Council later concluded suicide after reviewing photos and video. Sambhal has become the first district in UP to upload digital copies of panchnamas, victim photos and autopsy reports directly to the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS). “We are trying to plug the system from all sides,” said SP (Sambhal) Krishna Kant Bishnoi. “Reports, photographs, accountability — everything has to be traceable now.” He added: “Ward boys and drivers can’t do this alone. Doctors are complicit. We have proof. We’ve issued warnings. If anyone is found doing this again, they will be booked under the Gangster Act.” DM Rajinder Pensiya said: “The drive is real. We’ve already shut down 31 illegal health facilities. More action will follow.”(With inputs from TOI)Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now!
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