In protest plea, Dahl’s family opposes CBI’s closure report

Panaji: The family of Felix Dahl, the Swedish-Finnish man who was found dead in Patnem, Canacona, in Jan 2015, has opposed the closure report filed by the CBI in connection with his alleged murder.

The CBI last year filed the closure report due to “lack of evidence”.

The central agency took over the investigation of the case from Canacona police, which had earlier filed a closure report since they couldn’t prove murder.

A protest petition filed before the judicial magistrate first class, Canacona, stated that the CBI’s closure report failed to consider the factual aspects of the autopsy report, the location of his body, the accuracy of the reconstruction, and the condition of the body. It also stated that the closure report did not take into account the observations of the high court.

Advocate Shikha Bhura, representing the family, asked the court “To direct the investigating agency/CBI to conduct a fair and proper investigation in the present case and then file a final report/chargesheet”.

The petition stated that the CBI failed to consider the high court’s observations and findings in its order dated July 6, 2018, including that the autopsy report stated the cause of death as “head injury in the form of fractures of the skull bone, damage to the brain, and intracranial haemorrhage”.

The petition stated that Felix was a healthy man whose body was found on a small, tarred road in the middle of the night with five fractures to the skull, damage to the brain, and intracranial haemorrhage, wearing only his trousers, and with no money.

“The assertion of a full reconstruction of the crime scene by experts from the physics division, CFSL, New Delhi, lacks credibility and raises concerns about the accuracy of the investigation. It is essential to note that the layout of the spot where Felix’s body was found underwent significant changes by the time of the investigation’s re-registration in 2018. The construction of a boundary wall at the location undoubtedly altered the scene’s dynamics and potentially compromised the integrity of any subsequent reconstructions,” the petition said.

“We contend that the reconstruction does not provide a sufficiently-accurate basis upon which to draw definitive conclusions about the events leading to Felix’s death. Further scrutiny and investigation are warranted to ensure a thorough and unbiased assessment of the case,” the petition said. “We urge for a comprehensive review of the medical evidence, including the exploration of dissenting opinions and alternative hypotheses, to ensure a thorough and impartial assessment of Felix’s death.”

The petition also stated that “it raises questions why the CBI left the case in the hands of the Goa anti-corruption branch, which likely lacks experience in handling criminal cases”. “The actions of the medical team conducting experiments with a dummy without explaining the origin of Felix’s five head wounds and without considering other possibilities are also perplexing. This prompts suspicions of whether they were influenced or influenced by Goa police or authorities,” said Bhura.