‘Murder’ probe: 3 years after swimmer death, cops ask for medical reports

KOLKATA: Tiljala police on Sunday submitted a requisition to a local nursing home asking it to furnish all medical reports and papers pertaining to the death of swimmer Masudur Rahman Baidya who died on April 26, 2015. The development follows two days after his sister

Mahjura

Rahman lodged a murder case against Baidya’s wife and in-laws. Baidya was the first physically disabled swimmer to have crossed both the English Channel and the Strait of Gibraltar.


“We have registered the murder case and the homicide section is tracking the developments. We will send the medical records to the

Swathya Bhawan

officials for their opinion. Based on the initial response from experts, we will begin questioning Baidya’s relatives,” said an officer.

Police said Baidya’s death has been questioned on three accounts by Mahjura — first, she claimed she noticed froth in his mouth; second, she claimed that despite repeated pleas the swimmer’s in-laws had refused to carry out post-mortem and third, she wrote a letter of complaint to Tiljala police station immediately after Baidya’s death, but it was ignored.

“We have searched for such a letter but did not find in our records. There can be froth in the mouth if death is due to

asphyxiation

or

poisoning

. Mahjura is claiming it was poisoning. We need to find out what doctors wrote as the reason of death. We were informed at that time that Baidya, then aged 46, died after suffering multi-organ failure. If required, we will speak to the doctors,” said an officer.

“Locals and family members have claimed that Baidya and his wife had strained relations with his other brothers. Thus, besides the main probe, we also want to ascertain why the murder case has been filed at this juncture,” said a source at Lalbazar.