Salahuddin physically tortured before his death: forensic report – Pakistan

The post mortem forensic report on the death of the alleged ATM thief Salahuddin Ayubi confirmed the torture marks on his body before his death, health department officials and the District Permanent Medical Board (DSMB) concluded in Rahim Yar Khan .

Medical Superintendent Dr. Ghulam Rabbani said Dawn On Tuesday the report was prepared by the Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) and was presented to the police of the City A division on Monday.

A member of the medical team that performed the Ayubi autopsy, wishing to remain anonymous, said that several skin samples taken "show violence in the body."

"The deceased was also affected by lung disease and hepatitis," he added.

According to the forensic report, a copy of which is available with Dawn, the various samples sent to PFSA indicate that the lesions were antemortem in nature (before death).

"Pieces of skin sent from the right deltoid area (shoulder), the left deltoid area and the left hand reveal the presence of blood hemorrhages and scattered inflammatory cells that suggest the antemortem nature of lesions with associated inflammation," reads in the report.

The report has similar comments about the sample taken from the left elbow joint.

A health department official, requesting anonymity, said Dawn that the histopathology of the lesions shows that the deceased was "subjected to violence before his death".

"Blood clots were found in the injured body parts. There were signs of torture in the upper right arm and the left side of the abdomen," the official said.

"The man was physically tortured before his death," he confirmed.

The DSMB in its "final unanimous opinion" given in the post mortem report has stated: "Taking into account the autopsy report, forensic toxicology and forensic histopathology reports […] the lesions are antemortem in nature and caused by blunt means that confirm the antemortem physical violence. "

The board has said that the possibility of death cannot be ruled out due to the "combined effects of antemortem lesions mentioned in the post mortem report, restrictive lung disease and neurogenic shock."

Still exhumed for another autopsy

Ayubi, a resident of Gujranwala, was arrested in Rahim Yar Khan when he was allegedly caught stealing from an ATM on August 31. Two days later, he was reported dead.

According to the spokesman for the district police officer, Zeeshan Randhawa, Ayubi was behaving like a "madman" locked up when "he suddenly felt bad." He had said the man was unconscious when he was transferred to the emergency room at Sheikh Zayed Medical College Hospital, where doctors confirmed his death.

Ayubi's father, Muhammad Afzaal, had filed a petition in court asking for the body to be exhumed and an adequate autopsy carried out.

He alleged that the police performed the autopsy at night in a hurry by the medical board headed by the medical superintendent of Sheikh Zayed Medical College Hospital (SZMCH) without informing the family even though the petitioner's address was tattooed on the arm of the passed away.

Ayubi's father also said that the family was not allowed to examine his body and that he was not provided with a copy of the autopsy report.

Afzaal said when he took the body to his village in Gujranwala and during the bath. [rite] He observed marks of extreme torture. He said that many of the injuries that were visible on the body were not recorded in the autopsy report.

The magistrate who heard the case accepted Afzaal's request for further autopsies after the body was exhumed and ordered the Punjab health secretary to establish a medical board according to the rules and regulations.