Investigations into the Jaimul Abedin death case have hit a hurdle. The 45-year-old driver of an autorickshaw had said in his dying declaration that he was set ablaze by the owners of a private finance company. But circumstantial evidence collected from the spot of the crime does not corroborate the statement.

Abedin had taken a loan from the firm a year ago to buy an auto but defaulted on repayments for the past nine months. Financiers Rambabu and Sunil took away his vehicle by force, before summoning him to their Chittaranjan Avenue office on April 18.

“They had called me to their first-floor office, where I pleaded with them to release my vehicle, as my family was going hungry. They asked me to leave the office. When I did not, the two pinned me to the ground and doused me with kerosene, before setting me alight,” Abedin had told the doctor in his dying statement.

However, the evidence collected by forensic experts negates his statement. “It is clear that the auto driver tried to frame Rambabu and Sunil. But we cannot prove it. The dying declaration goes against our findings,” said a detective department officer.

“If a man is set on fire in an office room, there is bound to be some evidence on the spot. Instead, it is the ground-floor toilet, where Abedin had supposedly rushed to douse the flames, that bears evidence of a fire. From there, we recovered an empty bottle of mineral water that contained the kerosene Abedin was doused in. The fingerprints on it do not match Rambabu’s or Sunil’s,” the officer added.

The sleuths also recorded the statements of other residents of the building. The officer said: “A few children were playing on the ground floor when Abedin arrived. They told us he did not take the stairs but headed for the toilet, from where he emerged in flames. Evidence collected confirms their statement, as we have not found anything that suggests that the man rushed down the stairs while he was burning.”

But the cops have no idea how Rambabu and Sunil can prove their innocence in court. “The dying declaration is considered prime evidence in case of a murder. The statement can only be negated by the doctor who had noted down the declaration, if he feels that the dying man was not in his senses or was mentally deranged at the time. But in this case, the doctor himself had lodged the complaint with the police station,” the officer added.

Jorasanko thana, however, denied there was a problem in setting up the case. “There is no problem at all. Investigations are on. At the moment, nothing more can be said,” asserted officers.