http://www.caravanmagazine.in/…/death-judge-loya-medical-do…

Death Of Judge Loya: Medical Documents Rule Out Heart Attack, Says Leading Forensic Expert  -
A valiant and unrelenting fighter for democracy and human rights.
And, peace and amity in the region.

By ATUL DEV | 11 February 2018

After examining medical documents pertaining to the death of the judge
Brijgopal Harkishan Loya, one of India’s foremost forensic experts, Dr
RK Sharma—the former head of the Forensic Medicine and Toxicology
Department at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi, and
the president of the Indian Association of Medico-Legal Experts for 22
years—has dismissed the official claim that Loya died of a heart attack.
According to Sharma, the documents show signs of possible trauma to the
brain, and even possible poisoning.

Sharma spoke to The Caravan
after studying Loya’s post-mortem report and related histopathology
report, a report that accompanied samples of Loya’s viscera that were
sent for chemical analysis, and the results of the chemical analysis.
Some of these documents have been procured through Right to Information
applications, and others have been submitted to the Supreme Court by the
government of Maharashtra in support of a report by Maharashtra’s State
Intelligence Department that concludes there is no cause for suspicion
regarding Loya’s death. Sharma’s expert opinion contradicts this
conclusion.

“There is no evidence of myocardial infarction in the
histopathology report,” Sharma said. “The findings in this report have
no suggestion of a heart-attack. They show changes, but not a heart
attack.”

Sharma observed, “The post-mortem report also says that
calcification is observed in the vessels. Where there is calcification,
there is no heart attack. Once the vessels have calcified they will
never block the flow of blood.”

Loya is reported to have
complained of feeling unwell at about 4 am on the night of his death,
and was declared dead at 6.15 am. “So that means two hours,” Sharma
said. “If one is alive for more than 30 minutes after the symptoms [of a
heart attack] show, the condition of the heart will have clear changes.
No clear changes can be seen here.”

The post-mortem report
states that the probable cause of death was “coronary artery
insufficiency.” Sharma said that “there are changes observed in heart in
these documents, but none of them are conclusive enough to show
‘Coronary Artery Insufficiency.’ Every patient who goes for a bypass
surgery will have these symptoms.”

“More importantly, dura is
congested according to the post-mortem report,” Sharma added. “Dura
mater is the outermost layer that surrounds our brain. It is damaged in
cases of trauma, which indicates some kind of an assault on the brain. A
physical assault.”

Dr Anuradha Biyani, Loya’s sister and a
medical doctor in the service of the Maharashtra government, told The
Caravan earlier that, when she saw her brother’s body for the first time
after his death, “there were bloodstains on the neck at the back of the
shirt.” Biyani maintains a diary, and in an entry from the time of
Loya’s death she recorded that “there was blood on his collar.” Sarita
Mandhane, another of Loya’s sisters, had also mentioned “blood on the
neck” when she spoke to The Caravan, and that “these was blood and an
injury on his head … on the back side.” Harkishan Loya, the judge’s
father, told The Caravan that he remembered “bloodstains on the
clothes.”

Among the state of Maharashtra’s submission to the
Supreme Court is a bill in Loya’s name from Nagpur’s Meditrina hospital,
where the judge was declared dead. While Meditrina officials maintain
that Loya was brought in with heart problems, this document inexplicably
lists “neurosurgery” as a billed item.

The post-mortem report
does not record precisely how much congestion of dura was observed.
Sharma said he found it strange that “the reason why dura is congested
is not written.”

“There is a possibility of poisoning,” Sharma
continued, looking at the post-mortem report. “Every single organ is
congested.” The organs recorded as “congested” in the report include the
liver, pancreas, spleen, kidneys, oesophagus and lungs, among others.

The findings of the chemical analysis on Loya’s viscera samples,
submitted 50 days after the judge’s death, did not identify any poison.
The analysis was performed at the Regional Forensic Science Laboratory
in Nagpur. It is recorded as having started on 5 January 2015—36 days
after Loya’s death, on the night intervening between 30 November and 1
December 2014—and finished 14 days later, on 19 January 2015. “Why did
it take so long for the analysis,” Sharma asked. “It generally takes a
day or two [to complete the analysis].”

The chain of custody of
Loya’s viscera sample appears to have been broken in the aftermath of
the post-mortem. According to documents submitted to the Supreme Court
by the state of Maharashtra, a zero-FIR regarding Loya’s death was first
registered at Nagpur’s Sitabuldi police station. The Sitabuldi station
arranged for the post-mortem, conducted at the Government Medical
College in Nagpur from 10.55 am to 11.50 am on 1 December. The samples
for chemical analysis are collected at the same time. For reasons that
have not yet been made clear, the FIR was then transferred to Nagpur’s
Sadar police station, where records show that it was registered at 4pm.
It was the Sadar station that dispatched Loya’s tissue samples for
analysis with the necessary letter. It is not clear where, and with
whom, Loya’s tissue samples were in the hours between the post-mortem
and the registration of the FIR at the Sadar station, or under whose
supervision they were handed over to the Sadar station. Nor has it been
made clear why the Sitabuldi station did not send the samples to the
forensic laboratory right after the post-mortem was done.

In
addition, there is no consensus on the condition of Loya’s body and the
probable cause of Loya’s death as recorded in the post-mortem report and
the report that accompanied Loya’s viscera samples when these were sent
for analysis—despite the fact that the latter is meant to be based
entirely on the former. In a field titled “rigor mortis,” meant to
record how stiff a body is at the time of inspection, the post-mortem
report states, “slightly present in upper limbs [and] not appeared in
lower limbs.” The viscera report, under the same field, says that rigor
mortis is “well marked.” Rigor mortis could not have been “slightly
present” and “well marked” at the same time. In a field titled “opinion
as to the probable cause of death,” the post-mortem report states,
“Coronary artery insufficiency.” Under the same field, the viscera
report and notes, “A case of sudden death.” In a field titled “Story of
case,” the viscera report states, “A case of natural death,” with the
words “natural death” underlined—and yet a report of accidental death
had earlier been registered at the Sitabuldi police station before it
sent Loya’s body for a post-mortem.

Both the post-mortem report
and the viscera report were prepared at the Government Medical College
in Nagpur. The form used for the viscera report, obtained via a Right to
Information application, clearly states that the information in it must
be based on the post-mortem, and must be prepared immediately after the
post-mortem by the same doctor who conducted the procedure. The form in
Loya’s case, filled in by the forensic department of the Government
Medical College, is titled “Form in which Report of Post-mortem
Examination to be used when forwarding Viscera to the Chemical
Analyser.” A doctor who works in the forensic department at AIIMS in
Delhi confirmed that the standard procedure is to “copy the information
in the post-mortem to the form” that accompanies viscera sent to a
chemical analyser. Sharma said the same thing.

In Loya’s case,
both the post-mortem and the viscera reports are signed by Dr NK
Tumaram, a lecturer at the Government Medical College—and yet the same
doctor, in reports meant to be prepared almost simultaneously, has
furnished clearly contradictory information, even on something as
important as the probable cause of death. When The Caravan contacted
Tumaram, he said he could not speak about the case since it is being
heard in court.

Loya was 48 years old at the time of his death,
did not smoke or drink, and had no personal or familial history of heart
ailments. “Our parents are 85 and 80 years old, and are healthy with no
cardiac history,” Anuradha Biyani earlier told The Caravan. Loya, she
added, “was always a teetotaller, played table tennis for two hours a
day for years, had no diabetes or blood pressure.”

Dr RK Sharma
has written five books on forensic and medico-legal issues, and has
lectured and trained judges and public prosecutors on multiple
occasions. He has been a consultant for the Central Bureau of
Investigation, been invited to international seminars by investigative
agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United
States, and has organised numerous national and international seminars
in forensic medicine and toxicology.

“Isme investigation hona
chahiye” (There should be an investigation in this), Sharma said while
reading the documents. He later reiterated, “The situation presented in
these documents necessitates an investigation.”

Sheet of
post-mortem report (left) and sheet of viscera report (right) showing
contradictory opinions on probable cause of death.

Sheets of
post-mortem report showing congestion of multiple organs, including the
liver, pancreas, spleen, kidneys, oesophagus and lungs, among others.

[Facsimiles]

Report of chemical analysis on tissue samples (left) showing date of
start and end of analysis. Sheet of post-mortem report (centre) and
sheet of viscera report (right) showing observations on rigor mortis.

—
Peace Is Doable

https://www.geo.tv/…/181414-human-rights-icon-asma-jahangir…

My sincerest condolences.

A valiant and unrelenting fighter for democracy and human rights.
And, peace and amity in the region.

A role model for the South Asian women in particular.]

https://www.geo.tv/…/181414-human-rights-icon-asma-jahangir…

Human rights icon Asma Jahangir passes away in Lahore

LAHORE: Prominent lawyer and human rights icon Asma Jahangir passed
away on Sunday after suffering a stroke. She was 66 years old.

Family sources said Jahangir’s funeral will be held on February 13 as a family member is in London.

Officials at the private hospital where Jahangir passed away said she
was brought to the hospital unconscious after suffering brain hemorrhage
resulting from a stroke.

They added that despite several
attempts to bring her blood pressure back to normal, she passed away in a
state of unconsciousness.

Jahangir’s sister, lawyer and human
rights activist Hina Jilani, told Geo News that “the way she [Asma]
lived, it’s not just the family’s loss but also of those who are
voiceless and whose voices she raised”.

Earlier, her daughter,
broadcast journalist Munizae Jahangir, shared on Twitter that the family
is awaiting relatives to return to Lahore before the funeral can be
held.

Munizae Jahangir
@MunizaeJahangir
I am
devastated @ loss of my mother Asma Jahangir.We shall B announcing date
of funeral soon.We R waiting 4 our relatives 2 return 2 Lahore

3:37 PM - Feb 11, 2018
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Bar associations across the country have said they will be observing
three days of mourning and not partake in court proceedings.

Jahangir remained the head of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and the Supreme Court Bar Association.

She was known for taking up court cases of victimised and marginalised
sections of society, as well as speaking against human rights violations
and her courageous stand against the military rule of General
Zia-ul-Haq.

Asma Jahangir through the years
An author and staunch activist of democracy, Jahangir also received several accolades for her work on human rights.

Jahangir was also a vocal opponent of judicial overreach and would
often confront the superior judiciary when it would extend its
jurisdiction in her opinion.

In the last post on her Twitter account, Jahangir cautioned the Supreme Court from selectively using the contempt of court law.

Asma Jahangir
✔
@Asma_Jahangir
Nehal Hashmi’s tone and words cannot be defended but use of contempt
law selectively only undermines confidence in the system of justice

2:32 AM - Feb 2, 2018
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Asma Jahangir (1952-2018)
Born in Lahore on January 27, 1952, Jahangir completed her bachelors of
arts and law from Lahore and then went on to pursue higher legal
studies from Switzerland, Canada and US.

Jahangir taught constitutional law at Quaid-e-Azam Law College, Lahore.

She conducted consultancy on judicial reforms in Pakistan and
Bangladesh for the Asian Development Bank and World Bank. Jahangir also
remained a member of the Commission of Enquiry for Women from 1994-1997.

From 1998-200 Jahangir served as the special rapporteur of the UN
Commission on Extrajudicial, Summary and Arbitrary Executions and was
the special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief of the UN
Commission on Human Rights since 2004.

Jahangir was also an
executive member at the International Crisis Group and chief economist
advisory council member of World Bank since 2001.

She was also the founding member of Women’s Action Forum, Pakistan.

Jahangir also received several awards, including the 2014 Right
Livelihood Award, 2010 Freedom Award, Hilal-e-Imtiaz in 2010 and
Sitara-e-Imtiaz, UNESCO/Bilbao Prize for the Promotion of a Culture of
Human Rights in 2010 and an Officier de la Légion d’honneur by France in
2014. The Legion of Honour is the highest French award.

At present, she was a partner at AGHS Law Associates and head of its legal aid cell.

Outpour of grief
Following the sad news, messages of grief and condolences poured in.

President Mamnoon Hussain said Jahangir had rendered unprecedented
services for the rule of law. Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said
the country had lost a courageous and disciplined person who fought
fearlessly for human rights. Supreme Court Chief Justice Saqib Nisar
said the entire country pays tribute to Jahangir’s services.

Condolences also poured in on Twitter over the demise of Jahangir.

Shehbaz Sharif
✔
@CMShehbaz
إِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّـا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعونَ

Deeply saddened by the news of sudden demise of renowned lawyer and
human rights activist Asma Jahangir sahiba. Pakistan has lost a
passionate champion of human rights and a staunch supporter of
democracy. May her soul rest in peace!

3:08 PM - Feb 11, 2018
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Najam Sethi
✔
@najamsethi
My dearest friend and leader Asma Jehangir has passed away. We are in a
state of shock and grief. This void will not be easily filled. Her
courage to speak truth to power was unprecedented and exemplary. Asma!
Rest in Power!

3:25 PM - Feb 11, 2018
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Bakhtawar B-Zardari
✔
@BakhtawarBZ
Shocked to hear @Asma_Jahangir passed away. Huge loss for us, for #Pakistan. She was courageous, fearless, invincible. In absolute disbelief. Please pray for her & her family.

2:47 PM - Feb 11, 2018
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Khawaja M. Asif
✔
@KhawajaMAsif
.@asma_jahangir What a brave woman.Pakistan poorer without her.People
like Asma are anchors of a society.The brave and dedicated daughter of a
brave father.After 3 generations of camaraderie between our
families,this is a deep personal loss.God bless her soul

3:44 PM - Feb 11, 2018
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Maryam Nawaz Sharif
✔
@MaryamNSharif
Shocked & deeply saddened to hear of Asma Jehangir’s sudden death.
It is an irreparable loss. May she rest in eternal peace. Ameen.

2:47 PM - Feb 11, 2018
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Asad Umar
✔
@Asad_Umar
Sorry to hear about asma jahangir passing away. I disagreed with many
of her political positions but respected the fact that she clearly stood
up for what she believed in

3:08 PM - Feb 11, 2018
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Ali Zafar
✔
@AliZafarsays
Shocking to hear about the passing of this brave woman. Her honesty and
sincerity to her cause remains an inspiration for our generation. Was
always so full of life. We will miss you ma’am. @Asma_Jahangir

3:29 PM - Feb 11, 2018
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Akhtar Mengal
@sakhtarmengal
Aasma Jahangir was a woman of extraordinary determination.Her
dedication to justice gave many people of Balochistan hope. A woman who
fought patriarchy & non-democratic forces was truly what it takes to
be an Iron Lady.Thank you Asma Jahangir. Balochistan is forever in your
debt

3:16 PM - Feb 11, 2018
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Shahzeb Khanzada
✔
@shazbkhanzdaGEO
Bravest, fearless, a true democrat Asma Jahangir has passed away… sad day… RIP

2:51 PM - Feb 11, 2018
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Mahesh Bhatt
✔
@MaheshNBhatt
An extraordinary woman who fought for ordinary people. Asmaji had the
audacity and the courage to fight for a fairer world. Thank you for
touching our lives. 🙏🙏🙏

4:26 PM - Feb 11, 2018
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Malala
✔
@Malala
Heartbroken that we lost Asma Jahangir - a saviour of democracy and human rights.

I met her a week ago in Oxford. I cannot believe she is no more among
us. The best tribute to her is to continue her fight for human rights
and democracy.

4:37 PM - Feb 11, 2018
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—
Peace Is Doable