The police are facing a peculiar problem in the case of a builder and his wife who allegedly killed their 2-year-old daughter in Maharani Bagh on Thursday. The wife and the baby are dead but no one is coming forward to give their consent for the postmortem.
Reason: The deceased, Neelam Abbas, is Hindu by birth and had converted to Islam to marry Syed Mohammed Abbas in 2005.
In her suicide note, Neelam had written that no one is responsible for her death, and that she should be buried as per Islamic rituals. Police sources said Neelam’s relatives are not ready to claim her body. “When we went to their house in Indirapuram (Ghaziabad), Neelam’s relatives said they would not claim the body since she wanted an Islamic burial. That, they said, is against Hindu religion,” an officer said. “We are in a fix now: unless relatives give consent, we cannot conduct a postmortem till 72 hours.”
Rules require a body be sent for autopsy only after permissions from a relative; if no one comes forward for three days after recovery of the body, police can go for an autopsy.
The officer said Neelam had requested one Akbar Hussain to perform her last rites. A local Shia leader, Akbar had reportedly met the couple during a function at the Jor Bagh mosque. He has reportedly refused to claim the body and perform last rites.
“Akbar said he is not related to Neelam and knew her only through Abbas,” the officer said. “He claimed Abbas was also only an acquaintance. He is now scared: if he performs her last rites, it would not be received well in his community since she is a convert.”
Neelam had eloped with Abbas in 2005 and had converted to get married.
Out of danger: Was suicide bid a sham?
While doctors at AIIMS declared Syed Abbas out of danger on Friday, sources said doctors feel his injuries are “superficial”, going by the nature of the wounds. Doctors are of the opinion that such injuries do not usually result in death, officers said.
The police are now probing whether Abbas intended to kill himself, or it was a mere “pretence”: to escape pressure from moneylenders.
Officers said Abbas’s partner Anupam Pandey “cannot be contacted”. Newsline found his cellphone switched off during repeated attempts since Friday morning. The Sarita Vihar resident was partner in Abbas’s construction business — they had joined hands two years ago. The firm’s ongoing project is a multi-storey building in Noida Phase-II, the police said.
“We spoke to Anupam on Thursday evening; we have not been able to contact him today,” an officer said. “We will question Abbas once he recuperates.”