Home Guard cop death in ‘bison attack’: Forensic experts reject forest department’s claims

Goa forensic experts have rejected the forest department’s claim that a Home Guard jawan died in a bison attack, calling the conclusion unscientific and beyond their authority. They cited inconsistencies in injuries and evidence, while also flagging concerns over leaked post-mortem documents

Panaji: Forensic experts in Goa have refuted the forest department’s claims about the death of a Home Guard jawan, believed to have been killed in a bison attack, calling the interpretation of the post-mortem findings “totally wrong” and “unscientific”.

In a press release issued on Sunday evening, Dr Madhu S G Ghodirekar, in charge of the Department of Forensic Medicine at the South Goa District Hospital, said the forest department had no authority to draw conclusions from the autopsy report without consulting medico-legal experts.

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The injuries and internal damage resembled “horn injury”, which “could be of that of gaur”, the forensic department said, but added that forest officials were not authorised to independently infer conclusions from the report.

The state forest department had written to the South Goa Superintendent of Police, urging him to investigate the case, after officials found inconsistencies in injury patterns.

Dinesh Gaude (48), a Home Guard jawan from Bethoda village, was found dead in a forest patch in Ponda on May 7, in what was initially believed to be a bison attack.

However, an examination of the scene and post-mortem findings revealed several inconsistencies, the Deputy Conservator of Forests said in a letter to the South Goa SP.

The forest department pointed out that there were no hoof marks, dung, hair or other signs indicating the movement of a gaur (Indian bison) at the spot, and noted that the injury pattern mentioned in the post-mortem report did not match the nature of injuries usually caused in bison attacks.

According to forest officials, the blunt-surface injury and absence of multiple trauma marks cast doubt on the theory of a bison attack.

Forest Minister Vishwajit Rane told reporters on Sunday that “nothing can be ruled out.”

However, the forensic department said, “The conclusions drawn by the forest department in their letter regarding post-mortem findings are totally wrong and without taking medico-legal expert opinion.”

It also raised concern over the circulation of the post-mortem report and official correspondence on social media, terming it a “serious breach in criminal investigation procedure”.

The autopsy report had not been issued to anyone except the police, it said, adding that even the investigation officer had not shared the report with anyone other than the forest department.

The forensic department demanded an investigation into the alleged selective leak of confidential documents while the police probe is still underway.