RIMS MD Forensic Medicine Student's burnt body found on campus, doctors demand high-level investigation

Ranchi: In a shocking incident, a partially charred body of a 27-year-old doctor was found on the campus of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi on Thursday.

According to recent media reports, the body was identified to be that of Dr Madhan Kumar M, a second-year postgraduate student of the forensic medicine and toxicology department, from Namakkal district in Tamil Nadu.

Ranchi senior superintendent of police Chandan Kumar Sinha said that the partially charred body of the doctor was found around 5:30 a.m in the backyard of hostel number 5 on the RIMS campus.

"It is yet to be established whether it is a case of suicide or murder. The cause of the death will be known only after the postmortem," he said.

A special investigation team (SIT) has been formed by the district police to expedite the identification of the doctor's cause of death and investigate the possibility of it being either a homicide or a suicide.

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Mr Sinha said, "A team of the Forensic Science Laboratory has inspected the spot and collected evidence to find out the exact cause of the doctor's death. Police are investigating it".

An investigating police officer further told PTI that prima facie it seemed that the doctor jumped off the roof of a three-storied hostel building. However, the police are investigating the matter from both suicide and murder angles to determine the exact reason behind the shocking incident.

Mobile phone records, footprints and a black oily substance resembling engine oil (Mobil) were found by the police on the rooftop of the hostel where the student was residing.

To gather more information, the police are currently investigating the deceased doctor's mobile phone records to determine the last person he had communicated with before the incident.

Till now no FIR has been registered in connection with the case. The family of the doctor has been informed about the incident and an FIR will be registered based on their statements after they reach the city. 

Sub-inspector from the Bariatu police station, Husnain Ansari told HT, “No suicide note was found in his room. Those residing in the hostel did not notice any unusual behaviour in the student whose body was recovered.”

A police official present at the scene stated “The circumstances suggest that the student either committed suicide by setting himself on fire and jumping from the rooftop or someone set him on fire, forcing him to jump from the rooftop with no means to go downstairs for help from other students. However, the ‘why’ remains a mystery in both situations. Since there are no CCTV cameras on the hostel premises, we are facing difficulties in obtaining any clues. This incident marks the first time such an occurrence has taken place in the hostel.”

A student from the RIMS FMT department commented, “The student attended his duty yesterday. His mother suffered from dengue, and he had recently gone to visit her. The police should thoroughly investigate the matter. When someone sustains a burn injury, they typically shout due to severe pain. It’s a mystery why no one heard him shouting, especially during the morning hours when students return to their hostel rooms after emergency duty.”

Speaking about whether any sound was heard by the students in the hostel, the Rims management told TOI that one PG student was woken up by a loud sound at about 6 am after which he checked his room and upon finding nothing unusual, went to sleep again. Later, students of the hostel started smelling an unpleasant odour of skin burning and began a search during which they found Madan’s burnt body at the back of the building.

Meanwhile, the Junior Doctor's Association (JDA) of RIMS have demanded a high-level investigation into the matter and immediate termination of unsuitable RIMS administration personnel. 

Referring to the Director of RIMS, Ranchi, JDA wrote a letter pointing out several lapses in the RIMS management's efforts to ensure the safety of the students which they alleged to have led to the horrific death of the doctor.

"There are points which really point towards the foul play and also the lack of RIMS administration towards their negligence in providing security to its students and resident doctors," stated the letter. 

The following are the questions asked by the association to the director of RIMS:

1. The deceased was a resident of the FMT Department, then how did he take up such a violent method to commit suicide?

2. If there is no homicide, then why no inflammable or any container, as well as a lighter or matchstick, was found in and around the area, where the body was found?

3. If there was no foul play (poisoning), how there was vomitus present on the roof and also how he didn't cry or scream after falling down from the roof, with so much burn?

4. Why there is no security camera installed by the RIMS administration at any hostel campus or any fencing around the hostel boundaries?

5. The hostel campus is always exposed to outside people who always do mischief, eve teasing, theft, threats to resident doctors and also come inside the hostels intoxicated and also they do ganja smoking, drink alcohol around the hostel areas, is any step taken about these things in these months despite series of letters given by JDA, RIMS regarding these security concerns and also threats due to outside people?

6. Why the hostel campus is not isolated and there is always an invasion by outsiders?

7. Why Dean (student's Welfare) not permit any co-curricular activities for UGs and PGs for recreational purposes and this has seriously led to increased mental stress among students?

8. Why Dean of Students Welfare never paid any heed to any letter by JDA which always demanded increased security for students? He has become a dictator and never did any welfare for students and resident doctors. 

9. Where there was no suicide note found in this room, if had any depression phase or some issues he would have definitely left any suicide note?

"The association demands an investigation into the angle of homicide into the death of the doctor, urgent resignation of the Dean (Student's Welfare) even on moral grounds and other concerned administration people for their inability to do any welfare work and also for their innumerable failures to provide a safe and secure environment in the hostel campus, reads the letter.

"We shall not stop till justice is provided to the doctor," the association stated. 

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