18 August,2016 08:43 AM IST | | Vinod Kumar Menon
Instead of forensic surgeons, post-mortems were carried out by a dermatologist and anaesthetist, even though they protested that they were not qualified for such cases
Satara's Doctor Death got away with murder for 13 years without anyone finding out, but now, if he gets away with it for life, we'll know who to blame. (Read more)
Even before the autopsies could confirm identity, the cops labelled all four bodies with names of victims
Because of the murder method (lethal injection) and the time that had elapsed since the crimes (as long as 13 years), investigators knew that the biggest challenge was finding the forensic evidence to nail the accused, Santosh Pol. But mid-day investigations have revealed that instead of getting the best forensic surgeons for the autopsy, the local police dumped the job on a dermatologist and an anaesthetist from the local civil hospital. What's more, both doctors had protested that they were not up to such a complex task, but the cops pushed them to do it anyway.
Also Read: Lover, Nurse, Accomplice: She was to be the next victim of Satara's Dr. Death
The civil hospital has a basic post-mortem centre but doesn't have a forensic department specialised in such cases. The local police and the Satara civil surgeon should have notified the nearby BJ Medical college in Pune or the Kolhapur and Miraj medical colleges for help. On the contrary, they asked the local hospital's dermatologist Dr Sheetal Sawant and anaesthetist Dr SD Babar to conduct the post-mortem and collect samples for DNA examination.
Also Read: Maharashtra's 'Dr Death' posed as protector of women, then preyed on them
Dr Sawant was the on-duty medical officer at the civil hospital on Tuesday, while Dr Babar was asked to assist. Both doctors tried to refuse, stating that they were not forensic experts and that the case should be referred to the experts from nearby medical colleges. However, local police officials insisted that they conduct the post-mortem anyway. Interestingly, they had also approached a third doctor - Prakash Pol, who holds a diploma in forensic medicine and is attached to the civil hospital. He also refused and said they were not qualified for such autopsies.
Main story: Shocking! Maharashtra's 'Dr Death' confesses to committing 6 murders
The doctors went as far as to say, "We are used to conducting routine post-mortem cases, but we have no understanding of forensic medicine and won't be able to certify the cause of death. Also, such autopsies need to be done in daylight, not in the middle of the night."
But all their pleas fell on deaf ears. While Dr Pol managed to get away, Dr Sawant and Babar eventually had to carry out the post-mortems from 11 pm to 4 am, after which the DNA samples were sealed and handed over the police.
Dr Sheetal Sawant confirmed the entire incident and said the civil surgeon was aware of the entire situation, but refused to comment further.
Cop speak
When the matter was brought to the notice of Additional Director General of Police (Special Operations and Law and Order) Bipin Bihari, he said, "I have instructed the IGP to personally supervise the matter and ensure that the samples are preserved properly and corrective measures are taken."
