APCR fact-finding report casts doubt on Ashraf’s suicide claim, raises serious questions
By Anwarulhaq Baig
New Delhi, October 31: A Delhi-based, national civil rights group, Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), has demanded a thorough probe into the suspicious death of a Muslim man from Bihar, whose beheaded body was found at the old Ghaziabad railway station.
The man has been identified Mohammad Ashraf Ali, 28, from Araria, Bihar.
According to the APCR factfinding report based on discussions with the deceased’s family, the Government Railway Police (GRP) informed the family about the body, describing it as a purported suicide death. The autopsy report cited hemorrhage and shock due to autotomy or decapitation as the cause and manner of death. However, the family has refuted the claims of Ashraf’s suicide, and suspected he was murdered based on the circumstances.
Demanding a thorough investigation, National Secretary of the APCR, Nadeem Khan held that the circumstances surrounding the death gave rise to concerns and doubts.
Unfolding the events and circumstances behind this case, the APCR fact-finding report revealed that Ashraf had left his home in Araria in a mysterious way on September 29 and reached Ghaziabad on October 2.
The fact-finding report revealed that after leaving his home in Araria, Ashraf had last called his mother on September 30 to inform her that he was leaving for a few months and would not be in touch. He sounded heavily out of breath on the call and disconnected abruptly, asking her to take care of herself. He sent similar text messages to his three brothers before his phone became unreachable.
The family of Ashraf told the APCR team that when his decapitated body was brought home for the burial rites, the family observed ‘bruises on the upper right side of his chest’ and ‘signs of a brutal attack with a deadly weapon on his back’. The marks on his wrists indicated that he had been bound with a rope and beaten, proving that he was murdered.
Normally in a train accident, the loco-pilot notifies the authorities after finding a body on the railway track. However, in this case, the APCR report added that the police hastily concluded it a suicide without following protocols or conducting a formal investigation.
The APCR criticized the police for not yet filing an official First Information Report, despite the family’s formal complaint on October 19 alleging that Ashraf’s death was a murder under suspicious circumstances.
Finding another significant aspect that made the death more suspicious, the APCR report disclosed that Ashraf made three back-to-back trips between New Delhi and Ghaziabad between October 2 and 4, and another trip from Katihar to Delhi.
The APCR stated, “Since these trips were on general tickets that must be purchased from local counters, CCTV footage may have been able to shed light on his movements. Unfortunately, this footage was not provided to the family.”
Calling on authorities to conduct a thorough and impartial probe into the suspicious death of Ashraf, the APCR national secretary observed that the lack of a thorough and formal investigation coupled with the negligent handling of traces leading to the murder suspect raised serious concerns in the case.
