24 July,2016 08:01 AM IST | | Vinod Kumar Menon
Versova kabrastan trust refuses permission to CBI which wants to exhume 19-year-old Mumbai girl, Sanam Hasan's body for investigation who died four years ago
Four years after the death of 19-year-old Mumbai girl, Sanam Hasan, a second year fashion design and communication student at Pune's Symbiosis Institute, inside a rented room at a posh residential apartment in Pune, the case continues to be shrouded in mystery. Sanam died under mysterious circumstances, while celebrating her birthday with friends on October 2, 2012.
Sanam died on October 2, 2012, while celebrating her birthday with friends in Pune
The case has already witnessed a series of blunders, with botched up post-mortem and histopathology reports throwing up ridiculous findings of Sanam being male, and suffering from ischemic heart disease, which the parents have denied.
Sanam Hasan seen cutting a cake with her friends at the party where she died
Now, the CBI is facing another roadblock in its investigations with the Versova Muslim Kabrastan Trust denying the investigative body permission to exhume Sanam's remains from the grave.
The exhumation is essential for taking the case forward as reports of the forensic science laboratories in Kalina and Hyderabad have pointed to the fact that the samples provided in the case were not those of Sanam's.
It was because of the multiple goof-ups in the case that the HC had transferred the case from the state CID to the CBI in September 2014. Following a magistrate court's order recently, the CBI was finally granted permission to exhume the body on July 26. The CBI team now plans to hand over the court's order to members of the kabrastan trust on Sunday. A senior CBI officer, on condition of anonymity, confirmed the development and said, "All the departments concerned including forensic team, revenue department, photographer and local police have been informed about Tuesday's exhumation. We already have the court's permission, but some members from the community attached to the trust have reservations. We, however, haven't received any written communication regarding this, from the trust yet."
"The kabrastan members have assured us that they will put up our request before the committee and let us know of their decision soon," the official said.
Sanam's father Layique Zia Hasan (58) has expressed frustration at the situation. "I pleaded with them to allow for the exhumation, but they issued a fatwa, saying that after four years of burial, they do not allow a body to be exhumed, especially that of a woman. They also cited religious references, which do not permit exhumation. I will now approach senior community members and plead their intervention to allow the CBI to exhume my daughter's body."
When mid-day contacted Rizwan, manager at the Versova Muslim Kabrastan, he said, "We are in touch with the CBI, but we cannot share any information with you."
