Bangalore:
A pathology report has ruled out murder and culpable homicide in the case of Manipuri student Richard Loitam, who was found dead in his hostel room in Bangalore last month. Mr Loitam's friends and family had alleged that the 19-year-old died as a consequence of an assault by his seniors.
The post-mortem report says there were injuries on his body, but none that could have lead to his death. The report also shows he could have had heart ailments, however, the cause of the death has not yet been established.
The police had earlier registered a case of an unnatural death, but after several protests in Bangalore and New Delhi, booked a case of murder against two students. According to the police, the two students, Vishal Banerjee and Sayed Afzal Ali, had an altercation with Mr Loitam and had been interrogated by the police earlier. They were, however, not arrested as the police was still waiting for the forensic report.
Richard Loitam, a second-semester student of the Acharya NRV School of Architecture in Bangalore North, was found dead in his hostel bed on the afternoon of April 18. Friends and family of the 19-year-old student alleged that he was brutally assaulted by his seniors the night before he died. On the night of April 17, Richard reportedly quarrelled with Vishal and Sayed, who allegedly hit the Manipur student on the face and head.
Following the altercation, Richard returned to his room and was found dead the next day.
According to the First Information Report (FIR) filed with the Madanayakanahalli police by Richard's hostel warden S Sudhakar, the student met with an accident on April 16 and was subsequently treated at Sapthagiri Hospital.
However, with the post-mortem report being inconclusive, police had been looking for more leads. They said they were waiting for the report from the Forensic Science Laboratory.