Complaint to Collector alleges confidential post-mortem findings were circulated on social media during ongoing police investigation
MARGAO
In an interesting development in the Home Guard Dinesh Gaude death case, Associate Professor in Forensic Medicine at GMC and in-charge of South Goa District Hospital, Dr Madhu S G Ghodkirekar, has lodged a complaint with the South Goa district Collector, seeking an inquiry into the leakage of the sensitive and confidential autopsy report on social media.
In his complaint, Dr Madhu reminded that government guidelines state that public servants should be very sensitive while handling cases related to children, women, physically handicapped persons, and people belonging to the SC and ST communities.
In the present case, he said the victim belongs to the ST community and that the action of spreading wrong information on social media by the Forest Department is against the spirit of The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. “Further, if the intention of the Forest Department is to create confusion regarding the cause of death in order to deny possible compensation to the family of the deceased, then such action by the Forest Department becomes an offence under the purview of Sec. 3 (ix) of the said Act,” he added.
The complaint stated that it is an undisputed fact that a post-mortem report is not a public document and has to be handled with utmost secrecy until the police or SDM investigation is completed. “As per the Supreme Court judgment, a PM report becomes a public document only after the IO declares that the investigation is completed. In the present case, the PM report, along with unscientific comments by the Forest Department on its findings, has gone viral without permission from the Investigating Officer, for which accountability has to be fixed by the appropriate authority. Here, the responsibility lies with the Office of the Deputy Conservator of Forests, North Goa Division, Ponda-Goa, to explain how these confidential documents reached social media when Ponda Police are investigating this unnatural death under Sec. 194 BNSS,” Dr Gawde said while requesting the Collector to seek the required justification from Forest officials.
He further stated that the opinions expressed by the Forest Department are totally unscientific and that they have made them public. “Hence, it is now the responsibility of the Office of the Deputy Conservator of Forests, North Goa Division, Ponda, to give scientific justification/source for their claims criticising the findings of the autopsy report. Otherwise, the concerned officials from the Forest Department should be identified for preparing and spreading false information without any authority to do so,” he said.
Saying that this is not the first time the Forest Department has tried to deflect claims of fatal wild animal attacks, Dr Gawde, however, said, “This time they have crossed the limit with an attempt to misguide police investigations while spreading their theory through the media. It is a very inhuman act by officials while delivering justice to victims of unfortunate calamities like wild animal attacks.”
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Preliminary investigation backs bison attack theory, says SP
MARGAO: South Goa Superintendent of Police Santosh Desai has said that preliminary investigations show that Home Guard Dinesh Gaude died in a bison attack.
The district police chief told The Goan that the post-mortem examination report and the statement of an eyewitness show that the Home Guard was attacked by a bison. He said the post-mortem report showed that an injury caused by the bison’s horn resulted in his death. “Besides, there is an eyewitness who has clearly stated that Gaude was attacked by a bison,” SP Desai said.
He, however, said the police are conducting a detailed investigation into the death of the Home Guard.
Meanwhile, Goa Forward Chief Spokesperson Prashant Naik demanded that the Home Department investigate the claims made by the Forest Department and the Forensic Science Laboratory regarding the circumstances surrounding the death of Dinesh Gaude, who belonged to the Scheduled Tribe community.
He said the incident has raised serious concerns among people, especially within the tribal community, and therefore the government must handle the matter with utmost sensitivity, fairness, and accountability. Any attempt to suppress facts or delay the investigation would only deepen public suspicion and hurt the faith of marginalised communities in the system, he said.
The Goa Forward Party further urged the South Goa Police to investigate the matter on a war footing and ensure that justice is delivered to the young man, who came from a very poor and underprivileged background. The party emphasised that members of the Scheduled Tribe community often struggle to get justice and equal protection, making it even more important for authorities to act swiftly and impartially in this case, Naik said.
GFP also demanded that the government keep the family informed about every stage of the investigation and ensure that no pressure or influence interferes with the truth coming out. “Transparency, accountability, and a fair investigation are essential to maintain public trust and ensure that no injustice is done in this tragic case,” he added.
