Dhanbad, Nov. 23: Dhanbad SP Suman Gupta has said that Dhirendra Singh’s post-mortem report failed to establish the exact reason behind his death in custody, citing only a minor bruise on his body, thereby denying allegations the suspected Naxalite died of police torture.

Speaking out for the first time since the 30-year-old Bokaro resident was arrested on November 16 and declared dead the next day while in the custody of Barwaddah police station, Gupta said she was now waiting for the findings of the magisterial inquiry that was ordered by deputy commissioner Sunil Kumar Burnwal.

“We are following the guidelines of NHRC. After the in-custody death of Dhirendra, I referred the matter to the deputy commissioner requesting for a magisterial inquiry,” the 1997 IPS officer told The Telegraph today.

“The magistrate’s inquest was video recorded. So was the post-mortem conducted by a five-member team of Pataliputra Medical College and Hospital (PMCH). One should wait till the outcome of the ongoing inquiry. Due action would be taken against those found guilty,” she asserted.

Barwaddah officer in-charge Shahdeo Prasad was suspended today, but only after chief minister Arjun Munda intervened last night when Opposition MLAs from the coal belt raised the issue of Dhirendra’s arrest at an Assembly function in Ranchi to commemorate statehood day.

Asked why no action had been taken earlier despite allegations of torture, Gupta said the post-mortem report did not suggest any ante-mortem or post-mortem external or internal injuries on the deceased’s body.

“Only a slight external bruise was noticed by members of the post-mortem board who failed to reach to any conclusion behind the exact reason of death. The viscera has been sent to a Ranchi-based forensic laboratory for further tests to confirm the cause of death,” she said.

On why Dhirendra’s body was sent to his Bokaro home under the cover of darkness on November 20, she said they were fearing a law and order problem. “The dead body was in the mortuary for three days and its disposal was necessary. There was nothing more than that,” Gupta clarified.

She ruled out another post-mortem as demanded by several local MLAs as a five-member medical board constituted by the principal of PMCH, A.K. Choudhary, and comprising the heads of forensic, surgery, pathology and anatomy performed the autopsy.

Gupta, who is due to be promoted to DIG next year, felt she was being targeted unnecessarily by a few politicians with vested interests as they wanted her transferred out of the coal belt.