Sister Abhaya's death was not a suicide, forensic expert reiterates

Thiruvananthapuram: Dr. V. Kandaswami, a forensic expert and one of the witnesses in the Abhaya murder case has reiterated that the nun's death was due to an injury inflicted on her head and it was not a suicide incident. The expert in his deposition before a CBI court here on Wednesday said that the death was due to an injury in the middle part of her skull.

Kandaswami, who is 30th witness in the case, had given the same statement to CBI during their investigation. There were six injuries in the head which are believed to be due to hit by the butt of axe or a weapon similar to that, Kandaswamy explained. He had given expert opinion to Dr. C. Radhakrishnan, who conducted the autopsy of Abhaya's deadbody.

There was no sign of a death due to drowning in the corpse. The dead body had only 300 milli-liter of water. This is a normal quantity of water a person drinks and there was no mud mixed in the liquid, Kandaswamy added.

However, the counsel for the defendants refuted that Kandaswamy had, in 2000, said in a letter sent to DGP Kunjumoideen IPS, that Abhaya's death was a case of suicide. To this Kandaswamy responded that though the letter had his signature, the facts therein were distorted by his disciple, who was a police surgeon.

Dr. Kandaswamy is at present additional examination controller at Amrita Institute of Medical Science. The veteran had given expert opinion in the notorious Rajan murder case, Koothuparamba firing, Marad riot and Vikram Sarabhai's death.

Kanthaswamy was the first to suggest, that death of Abhaya might be suicide, to the police who was carrying out the probe as a case of suicide.