CHANDIGARH: Former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh’s death was instantaneous due to shock by ‘extensive deep bums and mutilating injuries which were caused by an explosion near the VIP entrance of the Punjab and Haryana Civil Secretariat on August 31 last year. This was disclosed by Dr. Indrajit Dewan, Professor Emeritus of Anatomy and Forensic Medicine of the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, while giving the details of the postmortem report here last week.

Deposing in the court of District and ions Judge Amar Dutt which was held in the high security Burail jail, Dr. Dewan who conducted the postmortem on the body of Beant Singh, which was highly mutilated, said that all the injuries were ante mortem and could be caused by a bomb blast.

Giving details of the postmortem, Dr. Dewan Said that the body of Beant Singh which was brought to the PGI mortuary at about 11 p.m. on August 31 for postmortem was identified by Shamsher Singh Dhillon, the then Excise Minister, Punjab, and Karam Singh Gill, the then Industry Minister, Punjab, who was the brother-in-law of the deceased.

Dr. Dewan further testified that the badly mutilated body of Beant Singh which was taken out of the burnt car alters some time bore heat stiffness on the neck, jaws and limbs. The body was disfigured and bunts completely when it was brought to the PGI for postmortem:

Dr. Dewan, who has conducted about 2,500 postmortems, said that Beant Singh’s body had deep burns, exposed muscles and deeper tissues which were also deeply burnt. The skin at the back of thorax, abdomen, hips and back of the right thigh was found burnt and blackened, but was intact.

Giving further details of the postmortem, Dr. Dewan deposed that a part of the gut and the omentum had come out as part of the anterior part of the abdominal wall was missing. The scalp was mostly burnt exposing the bones, which had also blackened due to deep burns, he said and added that no hair was present on the scalp. The face had also blackened due to deep bums. Dr, Dewan said that a number of bones of the former Chief Minister were fractured, while terminal phalanges of all the digits of the left hand were missing. The fourth, fifth and seventh ribs, humorous and ulna of the left side and the ulna of the right side were fractured. Deposing further, he said that there was no skin on the lower limbs as it had got burnt, exposing lacerated and blackened muscles. The left ulna had a fracture near its lower end. The right knee was exposed in the front, while all the other bones were intact, the doctor said, He further disclosed that there Was a partial damage to the lower jaw and that he had recovered a denture from the mouth, which had broken into two.

Dr, Dalbir Singh and Dr. Nitya Nand Arya were the other signatories to the postmortem report.

The prosecution counsel of the CBI, §.K. Saxena and R.K. Handa, produced three brown envelops bearing seals of the central forensic laboratory (CFSL). The parcels were opened in the court. They contained plastic containers carrying the Kara (iron bangle), the broken denture and a string of suture used during Beant Singh’s umbilical hernia surgery. The articles were recovered from body of slain Chief Minister by Dr. Dewan during the postmortem, which sealed them and handed over to the investigators for forensic examination. These articles were identified by Dr. Dewan as original.

The 12 X-rays and several pictures of the body taken by Dr. Dewan would be submitted in the court. The statement and cross-examination would continue on the next date of hearing.

Earlier, Dr. Deepak Bakshi, Medical Officer, General Hospital, Sector 16, who conducted the postmortem of the NSG commando, Balbir Singh, who was among 16 others killed in the blast, while deposing said that the deceased died due to the impact of the explosion and the injuries caused by the missiles and splinters form the blast.

However, on being cross-examined by DS. Chimni, Dr. Bakshi admitted that before the evidence in the court no investigating agency had sought his opinion about the cause of the death of the commando.

Defence counsel P.S. Hundal and A.S, Chahal argued that the surgeon conducting the postmortem was required to give the cause and manner of death while giving his report. He further said that no missile or splinter was extracted by him from the body of Balbir Singh, while conducting the postmortem, He accepted that he had no knowledge about the constituents of a bomb and the shapes and sizes of the splinters and missiles used in it.

Dr. Bakshi also deposed that from the nature of injuries it was difficult for him to verify the position of the bomb when it went off. However, he said that from the nature of many fractures in the body, the deceased it could be concluded that the injuries were caused by some large missiles.

Dr, Bakshi said that the body of Balbir Singh was identified by his squad commander, P.K. Joshi, and team commander R.K. Bhattacharjee.

Later, the CBI counsel, Saxena, produced another packet bearing the seal of the CFSL which contained a badly torn black dungaree and some other articles of the deceased. Dr. Bakshi identified it being worn by Balbir Singh, when body the body was brought for postmortem, the prosecution gave up the evidence of Dr. Subhash Sharma as “unnecessary.”

Article extracted from this publication >>  June 12, 1996