
Vyapam scam: MP govt left with egg on face after u-turn on Namrata Damor case reopening
Nineteen-year old Namrata had undergone an autopsy after which the surgeons declared that it was a case of homicide.
The Madhya Pradesh government, yet again, found itself in a tight spot after investigations into the death of MBBS student Namrata Damor, whose body was found near the railway track in 2012 after her name figured in the Vyapam scam, were ‘called off’ by Ujjain police barely a day after announcing that the case would be reopened. Earlier, immediately after her death, police had registered a “murder” case in this regard and later termed the incident as a “suicide” and closed the case. Nineteen-year old Namrata had undergone an autopsy after which the surgeons declared that it was a case of homicide. A re-examination by the Medico-Legal Institution in Bhopal, after MP police sought their opinion, however, suggested that she might have taken her own life. Police on Wednesday cited the same strong-worded opinion given by the Medico-Legal Institution after it had examined the case of Namrata and had raised serious questions on the competency of the autopsy surgeons by accusing them of being opinionated.<!– Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –> Filing the closure report on Namrata’s case, police had preferred the same opinion while carrying out the investigation instead of the original post-mortem report which had suggested that Namrata might have been murdered. Police had registered a “murder” case in this regard and later termed it a suicide case, contradicting the autopsy report that said Namrata died because of “violent asphyxia as a result of smothering”. “The panel of doctors that conducted the post-mortem has never mentioned in their postmortem reports that it was a case of suicide. We also found nail injuries at three places on her face,” said Dr BB Purohit, who had conducted the autopsy on Namrata along with Dr OP Gupta (medical officer) and Dr Anita Joshi (gynaecologist). Medico-Legal Institute director Dr DS Badkur had inspected the spot on February 7 the same year and submitted his report in March rejecting the opinion of autopsy surgeon that Namrata death was homicidal. Speaking to dna, Dr Badkur said given the sensitivity of the case he would not like to comment about it now especially after there are chances that the case might be investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation. The opinion by his institute had aggressively discredited not only the autopsy surgeons but also very firmly suggested that Namrata might have taken her life after facing ‘disappointment in love and intimate relationship’. “There is always some reason to commit suicide… in this case disappointment in love and intimate relationship and annoyance of parents, as evident from the statement of a friend of the deceased and presence of human spermatozoa,” reads the report. The report further says that since the deceased was unmarried and vaginal smear was found with human spermatozoa, “all possible attempts should be made to identify the person who had sexual intercourse with her.” Police had not found any involvement of five ‘suspected’ accused in the case, one of whom is under arrest for his involvement in the Vyapam scam. Manohar Varma, superintendent of police (Ujjain), who had ordered the reopening of Namrata’s case, remained unavailable for comment throughout the day despite several attempts by dna to reach him. Instead, a text message was delivered on the mobile phone of this corresponent which read, “Sorry, I can’t talk right now.”