Unnao rape and murder case: Autopsy unclear over reason for witness' death

Though doctors failed to give out a certain reason of CBI witness Yunus Khan's death, they did not rule out the possibility of poisoning.

People take to the streets to protest against the Kathua and Unnao rape cases. (File Photo)

LUCKNOW: The autopsy of CBI witness Yunus Khan, whose body was exhumed after a high drama on late Saturday night despite stiff resistance of the family members, failed to establish the reasons of his death on August 18.

Though doctors failed to give out a certain reason of Khan's death, they did not rule out the possibility of poisoning.

"We have preserved the viscera which will be sent for chemical analysis to check the aspect of suspected poisoning," said Dr Ashutosh, who conducted the autopsy on Saturday night.

Initially, authorities contemplated to get the autopsy done on Sunday, but owing to tension in Khan’s village, they went ahead on Saturday night itself and the exhumed body was re-buried on early Sunday morning.

Khan's wife Sabina Khatoon, his brother Raes Khan and two other relatives were bitterly against the administration’s move to exhume the body. Calling it against the laws of Shariat and Islam, the family members had rushed to Lucknow to stage protest outside the CM’s house.

The Unnao rape survivor's uncle had sought autopsy, alleging that Khan might have been poisoned by the henchmen of jailed BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, the main accused in the rape and murder case.

Khan, who used to run a grocery shop, was a key witness in the assault case of the rape survivor's father who was thrashed by Kuldeep's younger brother Atul Singh Sengar and his four accomplices on April 4. The man had died in police custody owing to internal injuries on April 9.

It is believed that Khan had given a six-page written statement to the CBI, narrating the sequence of the incident.

Unnao SP Harsh Kumar said that the authorities had to prevail over the family's opposition in order to protect the rule of the law. The police had managed to exhume the body in the presence of Maulanas and sent it for an autopsy.