Postmortem draws a blank as admin delays exhuming body

“The postmortem report says the causes of death are inconclusive since too much time had lapsed in the exhumation of her body,” a source said.

According to the source,Afsana,7,was found dead near a government school close to her residence in Phulgarhi village in Hapur,Ghaziabad,on March 13. Her parents,who work as labourers,buried her without informing the police. Suspecting foul play,her parents registered an FIR later.

“The FIR was lodged on March 16,and a request for the exhumation and subsequent postmortem of the body was forwarded to the district administration,” the source said. “But we got a go-ahead from the district administration only on April 21.”

According to the source,the request for exhumation and a postmortem came from Afsana’s parents on March 17,while the order came exactly a month later — on April 17. An officer said the postmortem might have thrown up some answers had the body been exhumed earlier,since it would have been less decomposed.

Bones of the deceased have been sent for further examination,the source said.

District Magistrate R Ramesh Kumar refused to comment on the issue.

Sources said Hapur police station,where the case was registered,had to send two reminders — on March 22 and 30 — before the district administration issued the order for exhumation.

Afsana’s mother Ruksana alleged that the case faced government apathy as they are poor.