Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore
Mangalore, Mar 27: On March 23, when locals of Tannir Bavi spotted the severed head of Rohit, just a few feet away from his body, they suspected it was a clear case of murder and informed the police immediately. The police who rushed to the spot came to the conclusion that it was an accident and not murder. The police argument was that Rohit (22), a final year medical student of a college in the city was speeding in his Pulsar bike and must have hit the tree. His head must have got severed from the rest of the body having hit the branch of a tree due to the speed. They came to this conclusion as the blue Pulsar bike which Rohit was supposedly riding, had fallen a few meters away from his body near an electric pole.
But not everyone buys this theory of the police, especially the parents and relatives of Rohit who believe that there is an orchestrated move to hush up the incident by treating it as an accident and close the file. Having lost their only son, the parents of Rohit and his relatives want justice to be done to their son. They have raised many questions that apparently look credible and unless the police come out with clear answers to these questions there is every reason to believe that Rohit was murdered and the police have shown undue haste in concluding it to be a case of accident.
Friends turned Foes?
First of all, apart from loopholes at the accident site, the needle of suspicion in Rohit’s case is directed towards his two friends who were with Rohit on the night when he was supposed to have met with an accident. Rohit’s parents and close family members argue that Rohit always used to travel by car and he did not have a bike. So whose bike did he ride? Why did he not travel by his car on that particular night? The behavior and statements of his two friends with whom Rohit had come out for dinner on the night on March 22 also is a pointer that there is something fishy in the tragic death of young Rohit. His friends had revealed that they went to the restaurant on the previous night to buy food but Rohit left them without a word in his Pulsar bike at high speed towards Tannir Bavi road. These friends of Rohit had said, “they went behind him but having failed to trace him returned home”, which looks too incredible to believe.
Parents of Rohit advocate M S Radhakrishnan and Dr Sreedevi, both working in Bahrain, argue that if three friends (it is believed there was another friend also) had gone out for dinner together and if one went missing, "how could they go and sleep in Rohit’s flat without worrying why their friend had not returned? What did they do with the food? Did they eat even when their friend failed to return? What happened to Rohit’s share of food? If he was missing why did they not inform the police or others concerned? Why did they lock the flat before sleeping when they knew their friend had not returned and the wallet, car key and keys of Rohit’s flat were with them? Why did they not check Rohit’s whereabouts even at 8 am the next morning when Rohit failed to come back? Even after coming to the scene of the crime they did not come forward to own the responsibility about the victim or about the bike? These friends had also put up a feeble defense that they believed Rohit had gone to buy cigarettes at Tannir Bavi when he went speeding in the bike. Can anyone tell them which cigarette shops are open in Tannir Bavi at 11.30 pm? Does it not sound fishy?” his parents ask.
His parents and those who know him closely also point out that Rohit was a shy boy who never ventured out of his home in boxer shorts. But at the accident site Rohit’s body had only a boxer shorts and not a Bermuda. The belt and Bermuda was later recovered from his Honda car by the police. It is also revealed that the smart card from Rohit’s Nikon camera is missing leading to further suspicion.
While these are the questions raised pertaining to the behavior of the friends of Rohit, his parents firmly believe that there is prima facie evidence to believe it is a clear case of murder, if one has a glance at the accident site. .
Clues at accident site
A close look at the accident site including the position of his severed head and body, gives credibility to what his parents say. Rohit’s parents who are still in daze, point out that the accident location, location of the body and the bike don’t justify the accident theory. Rohit’s cousin Kiran argues that if the head was severed by a branch of the tree the branch should be thin or sharp to have that severing effect, which is not the case with Rohit’s accident.
Kiran has based his argument on the engineering equation that if the body and head was moving at a high speed, as the police argued, both the body and head will continue moving even after the impact of the accident and therefore the head should have rolled like a ball after the accident and would accumulate dust, debris and sand in the process. But Rohit’s severed head was found in a clean state thus debunking the police theory of accident due to high speed. Even if one is to believe that a sharp branch of a tree severed his head he argues that the head will not tear off with a straight cut and the cut would have been from the base of the neck. But Rohit’s cut was just below the chin thus giving credence to the theory of murder. Another cousin brother of Rohit says “whatever might be the impact of the accident or collision the head will not be severed in this fashion.
They also term it strange to find Rohit’s footwear near the bike that caused the accident. If the accident was due to high speed, as the police term it, then the light weight slippers which Rohit was wearing should have flung far off due to the impact of the accident. Further, they point out that the picture clear show that the bike is damaged from behind. The damage caused to this bike does not look resemble like a damage caused by the skidding of the bike.
If the accident theory holds good, then it is argued that the accident site should have soaked with blood caused by the cutting of the aorta. Rohit’s body also said to have severe damage on the left side of the thoracic region and his family suspects that the area was severely crushed with a stone to camouflage a fatal knife wound. The position of the fallen bike, the damage or lack of damage to the bike and to the electric pole, also raise questions doubting the accident theory put forth by the police.
While going through all the suspicions raised by Rohit’s family, one is bound to get a feeling that these questions are genuine and police were in unwarranted haste to declare it as accident case. These are the questions which even the common people need to know and only a thorough investigation after considering all sorts of evidences will be able to throw light on the events leading to the tragic death of a blooming life.