HC orders fresh autopsy of Salem woman who died in Japan

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Wednesday ordered a re-post mortem of a Salem woman who died in Japan in a suspicious way. The court directed the Salem Mohan Kumaramangalam Government Hospital dean to constitute a team of doctors to conduct the re-autopsy.

Justice Abdul Quddhose passed the direction on disposing of a petition filed by M Lucia, mother of the deceased.

The petitioner filed a direction to the Salem district Collector and superintendent of police to take the body of Maria Antonate, wife of Susairaj from Chennai Airport and refer to the post-mortem in Government Hospital, Chennai and then hand over the body to the petitioner for performing the funeral.

When the matter was taken up, the deceased woman named Maria Antonate’s husband Susairaj who lived together with the former submitted that his wife died, after jumping from a bridge in Tokyo on July 3.

However, the petitioner informed the court that Susairaj demanded bribes and he should have killed her daughter. Susairaj also rejected those allegations and he wanted to take the corpse of his wife to his native Puducherry to conduct last rites.

It is noted that the body of the Antonate came to Chennai International Airport on Tuesday and it is in the Air India cargo.

Recording the submissions, the judge held that since there was no smooth relation between the petitioner’s family and the deceased’s husband, he would hand over the corpse to the petitioner.

The judge also directed Air India Cargo to hand over the body to Chennai city police and the city police should give it to the Salem Steel Plant police authorities.

“After receiving the body, the Salem Steel Plant police shall file an FIR and hand it over to Salem Mohan Kumaramangalam GH for conducting the re-autopsy. After the autopsy, the dean of the GH shall submit the report to the police and hand over the body to the deceased parents. Since Susairaj is the husband of the deceased, the police shall extend security to him while he is taking part in the last rites in Salem. The police shall act as per the post-mortem report, ” the judge held and disposed of the matter.