Hathras case: No sexual intercourse with victim, says hospital in final opinion

LUCKNOW: Refuting the gang-rape theory, the department of forensic medicine of Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College Hospital (JNMCH) of Aligarh Muslim University has written to Hathras Police that there were no signs to suggest vaginal or anal intercourse with the 19-year-old victim, who succumbed to her injuries on September 29.

However, as per the sources, the department added in its correspondence that there was concrete evidence of physical assault (injuries over the neck and the spine) of the victim.

As per the sources, Hathras Police had sought the opinion of the forensic medicine department of JLN Medical College and Hospital under AMU on the report of FSL Agra.

Notably, the girl was taken to JNL Medical College on September 14, the same day when the incident had occurred.  In its preliminary report, the doctor conducting the medical examination of the victim had written, “On the basis of local examination, I am of the opinion that there are signs of use of force. However, opinion regarding penetration and intercourse is subject to the pending availability of FSL (forensic science lab) reports.”

Though the doctor remained non-committal over the issue saying it was a confidential report and it would be submitted to the court, all sections regarding the presence of semen had “do not know” written against them. It had also noted that the patient had suffered “loss of consciousness at the time of the incident” and “was in pain after regaining consciousness”.

The examination was carried out on September 22, the day the girl spoke to the police for the first time since the incident after regaining consciousness in the hospital. As per the medico-legal report (MLR), the victim claimed that she was sexually assaulted by four known persons of the same village when she (was) doing some work in the field.

On the same day, the college’s neurosurgery department head wrote to the casualty medical officer of the hospital’s emergency and trauma centre to arrange a Magistrate to record the victim’s ‘dying declaration’ as her condition was critical. In her statement to the magistrate, the girl said she was gang-raped.

The MLR, recorded by a doctor, was the first document about her medical status. It had found no injuries” or “abnormality” of the pudenda, and had ruled that the cervix and vagina were “healthy”.

The forensic report, prepared by a lab, was based on samples that had been sent 11 days after the incident, as earlier reported by The New Indian Express.

However, the delay in sending forensic samples to FSL Agra was attributed to the fact that the initial FIR had no mention of gang-rape and it spoke only of physical assault and attempted murder by one Sandeep. The first FIR was lodged by the victim’s brother an hour after the incident.

Following her statement on September 22, additional charges of gang-rape were added to the FIR, and samples were taken. Eight days had already passed by then. On the basis of that forensic report, which did not find the presence of semen, ADG (law and order) Prashant Kumar had ruled out rape.