The five-member panel of experts, from both the psychiatric and forensic medicine professions, has merely blamed the hostel authorities and the girl's parents for ignoring the mental stress she was under in the run-up to her fall from the hostel terrace in the early hours of August 6.

Indu Anto, whose death had the student community in a ferment last year, was admitted to the college hostel on July 15, 1998. The 16-year-old, whose family resides in Borivali, had been admitted to Std XI only three weeks before she fell to her death under circumstances that have till date remained mysterious.

Though the Gamdevi police registered a case of suicide, the girl's father, C L Anto had alleged that his daughterwas a victim of ragging by fellow hostelites, which had provoked her to take her life. However, the possibility of physical torture and/or sexual abuse was also considered following a post-mortem examination, which revealed the presence of abrasions around her genitals. These had been sustained about three to five days prior to her death, according to the post-mortem report.

However, the panel, which submitted its report to the Crime Branch on April 30, 1999, has chosen to play safe on this crucial issue. Despite its brief to determine whether there was any abetment to suicide, the committee merely says if the injuries were not self-inflicted, the girl would have complained to her parents or even the college authorities. Hence, it concludes, they were either self-inflicted or were sustained in an accident.

Interestingly, the findings contradict another investigation undertaken by a member of the same committee - Dr R G Bhusale, professor of forenic medicine, J J Hospital - at the behest of the Gamdevipolice in September last year. Dr Bhusale had concluded that the injuries were not self-inflicted. He was asked to offer his opinion following suspicions that the injuries may have been sustained during ragging by hostelites.

The present committee, which was appointed in December 1998 and included Dr G V Uppe, police surgeon; Dr Pritam Phatnani, profesor of forensic medicine, Sion Hospital; Dr R G Bhusale, professor of forenic medicine, J J Hospsital; and Dr Shubhangi Parkar, professor of psychiatry, KEM Hospital; studied various kinds of evidence including Indu Anto's personal diary and post-mortem notes apart from visiting the scene of the girls' death.

It concludes that the entries in Indu's diary indicate that she was in a highly disturbed state, which could be attributed to her being a first-time hostelite. Still, both the college authorities and the girl's parents failed to either detect this or pay any attention to it before it finally culminated in her death. It notes that the girl was veryintelligent and had set very high standards for herself.

It has, however, expressed surprise that no statement was taken from the girl at Jaslok Hospital, where she was admitted after the fall even though she was conscious and coherent till she died a few hours later. On the critical issue of the injuries around her genitals, the committee says the cause is not clear. Since no photographs were taken and no histopathology was done, it is difficult to pinpiont the nature of these injuries, the report adds.

A senior Crime Branch official investigating the case, told Express Newsline that all that remains before closing the case is to decide whether the students' death could be attributed to suicide or abetment to suicide. Under the circumstances, he said, the latter was the most likely possibility.

Sequence of events