By IANS,
Lucknow: Taking suo moto cognizance of the mysterious death of deputy chief medical officer Y.S. Sachan in a Lucknow district jail, the state Human Rights Commission (SHRC) Friday issued notices to the Uttar Pradesh government returnable July 12.
The Uttar Pradesh SHRC issued notices to the state government’s five senior officials, including the chief secretary, principal secretary (home), additional director general (prisons), Lucknow’s district magistrate and Deputy Inspector General/Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP).
“The commission has asked the government whether Sachan’s death is a suicide or a murder. The commission will take up the case for hearing July 14,” officials said.
Meanwhile, Sachan’s family, which earlier said it would not cremate him until a CBI inquiry is ordered, performed the last rites Friday evening.
“After receiving the certified copy of the post-mortem examination that clearly indicates that my brother was killed, we decided to hold the cremation. It was not performed under any kind of pressure from anyone,” Sachan’s elder brother R.K. Sachan told reporters here.
“We still want a CBI probe…We may even approach the Supreme Court for initiating the CBI inquiry,” he added.
The state government Thursday categorically ruled out handing the case over to the CBI.
Y.S. Sachan, the prime accused in the murder of chief medical officer (CMO) family welfare B.P. Singh, was found dead in mysterious circumstances inside a Lucknow district jail toilet Wednesday evening.
His post-mortem examiantion report mentioned “excessive bleeding” as the cause of death and pointed out nine wounds on the his body. But the officials still ruled out murder.
“According to the post-mortem report, eight of the nine wounds on Sachan’s body were caused by a sharp-edged blade, while one was a mark left around his neck,” Cabinet Secretary Shashank Shekhar had told reporters.
He said: “While two wounds were found on his neck, two each were on the right and left elbows, one on the left thigh and one on his wrist.”
The cabinet secretary sought to suggest that Sachan first tried to strangulate himself using his own belt but when that failed, he used a blade to cut his veins at different places following which he bled to death.
“Prima facie, it is a case of suicide, but I would not like to draw any definite conclusion, since a judicial probe is already underway,” he said.
Sachan was facing charges of not only masterminding Singh’s murder but for also giving money for what was officially termed as “contract killing”.
Sachan’s death is the third in succession over alleged bungling in National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) funds in Uttar Pradesh.
Before Singh was gunned down during his morning walk just outside his residence in Lucknow’s posh Gomati Nagar locality April 2, his predecessor Vinod Arya too was shot dead by masked motorcyclists, just as he stepped out of his home for his morning walk in October 2010.
Award of huge contracts for supply of goods and equipment under the centrally-funded NRHM and large-scale financial bungling were officially stated to be the cause behind both the murders.