Dharmasthala police station. Image Credit: The Hindu
1 year on, Kerala man’s family still awaits autopsy report after body handed over from Dharmasthala cemetery
Dharmasthala
The blrpost.com, which had earlier reported (Dharmasthala panchayat buried Kerala man’s body as ‘unclaimed’ despite family’s claim) on the burial of a Kerala man, has now learnt that the family has not received the post-mortem report even after one year of his death. However, the police handed over the body of the deceased, identified as Shyam (47), from the Dharmasthala cemetery on September 21, 2024. The autopsy was conducted at K. S. Hegde Hospital in Deralakatte.
This website, based on official documents, had previously reported that the panchayat buried Shyam’s body even after the family had claimed it. Records provided by the panchayat through the Right to Information Act (RTI) suggest that the body was buried, as a bill was generated for the burial. However, there is no document showing that the body was actually handed over. This indicates that the panchayat generated bills merely for digging the ground, but wrongly made an entry stating “for burial of unclaimed body.” Shyam’s body was allegedly found floating in the Netravati River at Sthnana Ghatta (bathing point) on September 18, 2024.
Haridas, a younger brother of Shyam and a resident of Kasargod, told this website’s reporter, “As my brother did not return from Dharmasthala, we approached the local police in Kerala. The police advised us to visit Dharmasthala police station. We did the same. I was accompanied by my relative on Saturday (September 21).”
Haridas further said that after reaching the police station in the morning, the police showed them a photo of a dead body on a laptop. “My relative and I identified the body, but for further confirmation, we circulated the photo on WhatsApp among other family members and friends. My brother Shyam had visited the temple along with his friend, and we even asked him. His friend said the cloth belonged to Shyam, but it was not his body.” His friend, when questioned, maintained that Shyam went missing after going into the temple and he had to borrow money from others to return to hometown.
He added, “The body was indeed Shyam’s, and then we asked the police to hand it over. The police said the body had been dispatched to K. S. Hegde Hospital for post-mortem and would return in the afternoon. After physically identifying the body, we could claim it. The body came back at 2 p.m. and was in a decomposed state. By that time, the panchayat workers had already dug the grave at the cemetery for burial. We identified the body and carried it back to our place.”
Post-mortem report
While the family secured a death certificate stating that he died by drowning in a river due to seizures, even after one year of his death, the post-mortem report has still not been provided by the police. Haridas said, “For about three months I was following up with a panchayat member. He kept saying it would be given in one week, two weeks, as samples were dispatched to multiple places. But till today, we are still waiting for the report.”
With the post mortem report, that friend should be interrogated for suspected murder. When did Shyam go missing and when was his body found and how was it identified, floating in the river, are missing links. Since digging was already done, Panchayat has paid money to a digger, but amount is high.