Court lashes out at cops, asks CBI to reinvestigate 2017 death of student in Greater Noida

A 22-year-old student who was from Imphal, named Pravish Chanam had gone missing during a concert of The Chainsmokers at India Expo Mart in Greater Noida on September 8, 2017.

On October 13, 2021, a special CBI court rejected the central investigating agency’s closure report on the mysterious death of a Manipuri youth in Greater Noida in 2017. Calling the initial inquiry done by UP Police shoddy, the court ordered a further probe.

According to TOI, CBI special judicial magistrate Shivank Singh stated that the CBI overlooked several important aspects of the case filing the closure report. “The intention to outwit and hoodwink the court with the almost deluded closure report thus becomes latently apparent. Thus, in the considered view of this court, further investigation is required to be done. Accordingly, the protest petition is allowed, closure report filed by the CBI is hereby rejected,” the court said.

22-year-old cremated by police unidentified

A 22-year-old student who was from Imphal, named Pravish Chanam had gone missing during a concert of The Chainsmokers at India Expo Mart in Greater Noida on September 8, 2017. Next day, on September 9, a missing person’s complaint was filed with Knowledge Park Police Station. Chanam, who was eventually found in Nithari, died the same day. Unable to confirm his identity, police conducted the cremation as an unclaimed body on September 13.

Later, the police and hospital authorities was accused of negligence by the family members who came to know about Chanam’s death. TOI report suggest that the family feared Chanam had been targeted by an organ trafficking racket, citing the autopsy report that mentioned several injuries on his body.

“After a relative of Chanam filed a complaint, an FIR was registered at Sector 20 police station under IPC sections 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) against unknown persons. In July 2019, the CBI took over the investigation,” TOI report said.

What does Police Investigation suggest?

The findings by the police suggest that Chanam reached Delhi on September 7 and gone to his friend Ashok Thounaojam‘s house in Safdarjung Enclave. He along with a few of his other friends reached the concert venue on September 8. On the venue, he also met some other friends from Imphal.

During the concert, Chanam got separated from his friends and found by guards at the venue around 9pm in an unconscious state. He was taken to BR Ambedkar Multispecialty Hospital at Sector 30 in Noida by the medical staff hired by the organisers of the concert. TOI states that while Chanam was being admitted to hospital, Ashok and his friends said they looked for him in and around the venue but could not find him. Finally, they left the venue, assuming he might have left with some other friends and would return the next morning.They did not raise an alarm that night.”

On September 9, Chanam disappeared from the hospital. CCTV footage showed him getting out of the bed around 7.30am, going out and returning with a water bottle 15 minutes later. After that, he was seen roaming around the hospital for some time, but his final exit was not captured by any camera, the report states.

“He was seen for a few seconds around 3pm on footage from a hotel in Nithari, walking briskly in the middle of the road between traffic. Thereafter, he was spotted lying near a pillar, taking deep breaths. A woman offered him water but Chanam had lost consciousness by then. Later, a call was made to the police control room after which he was taken back to Ambedkar hospital by a PCR vehicle. There, he was declared dead,” the police stated in its report according to TOI.

What are Court’s observations?

The court observed that police did not seize Chanam’s mobile phone. No details from the mobile phone, call details and other info from Chaman’s friends were collected by the police. TOI suggests that the court also observed that the constable on duty who registered the missing person’s complaint failed to transmit the information to the control room. The report filed by CBI stated that no conspiracy or criminal intent was found behind the death.

TOI suggests that according to the central agency, the death appeared to be accidental. Meanwhile, a protest petition was by Chaman’s cousin Phanjoubam Linthoingambi.

Stating that the investigating agency failed to explain why there were multiple injuries on Chanam’s body, the court-ordered probe. The court also said that CBI overlooked why injuries mentioned in the post-mortem report were so different from testimonies of the witnesses. The CBI also failed to record the statement of Chanam’s girlfriend, TOI stated.

The court also questioned why no legal action was taken against her for not cooperating in the investigation. The court was also not ready to believe why Chanam’s friends waiting at the venue did not come across the medical team hired by the organisers, which was also waiting there for any person who would come looking for Chanam, TOI said.

Stating that the parents of the deceased did not get any chance to see the body or perform the last rites, the court directed the CBI to file the progress report of the investigation on November 22. TOI stated that the court-ordered UP police chief to take strict action against cops who were involved in the investigation before the case was transferred to the CBI.

Read More: