NEW DELHI, May 3:
The Centre has been asked by the Delhi High Court to submit it the official records on probe into the death of an Army jawan and removal of his kidney during postmortem in J&K in 2001.
Seeking the probe report into the death of Army jawan Ajay Kumar Tyagi by May 17, a division bench of Acting Chief Justice A K Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw said, “Original records relating to investigation carried out by Indian Army into the death of the jawan to be produced before the court by the next date of hearing.”
The bench was hearing the Government’s plea challenging the single judge’s order directing Indian Army to pay Rs 10 lakh as compensation to the widow of the deceased for removal of the jawan’s kidney after his death.
The single judge had awarded the compensation on a plea by the jawan’s widow seeking a fresh investigation into the death of her husband who had allegedly committed suicide in J&K.
The court had said the removal of the jawan’s organ could have gone unnoticed, were the second postmortem not conducted on his wife’s suspicion about the nature of his death.
“The doctor who conducts the postmortem is expected to be a fair person as full faith is reposed on him by the family members. This faith is shattered by such instances,” the court had said.
On September 8, 2009, Tyagi was found hanging in 15 Corps Provest Unit in Baramulla district of J&K where he was posted and his postmortem was conducted next day in Srinagar and the report confirmed the cause of death as asphyxia due to hanging.
After receiving the body, the family of the deceased had conducted the second postmortem at Meerut and according to the report, Kumar’s left kidney was found missing, which was taken out at the time of the first postmortem, the family alleged.
Following a complaint from the wife, an FIR was registered at Srinagar by the unit itself and the investigation is pending till date.
In March 2005, the widow of the deceased had filed a petition before the Delhi High Court seeking compensation of Rs 20 lakh for the alleged removal of Tyagi’s kidney when his body was in the custody of Army.
In May, 2009 the single judge had directed the Defence Ministry to pay Rs 10 lakh as compensation to the widow. (PTI)
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