‘150 mg of semen’? What the Kolkata doctor’s post mortem actually says

The case of rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata has drawn national attention, highlighting both the dire working conditions of junior doctors in general and raising questions about the lack of security for women in workplaces.

There has been much concern about what happened to the postgraduate trainee on August 9. The lack of reliable information has also led to rumours being taken as facts.

Newslaundry has seen the PM report, which details the findings of the autopsy. The PM report has not been shared with the media so far. Here’s what it says.

Under the section titled “External and Internal Genitalia”, the PM report says: “As noted. White thick viscid (viscous) liquid present inside the endocervical canal, which is collected as noted above. Wt-151 gm.” The PM report does not specify what this liquid is and it is the forensic team’s responsibility to ascertain further. The forensic team will also do DNA testing to verify if more than one person was involved in the crime.   

Newslaundry spoke to autopsy experts who clarified that “Wt-151 gm” refers to the weight of the vagina (meaning the genital tract that connects the external genitals to the cervix of the uterus) collected from the victim’s body. When an autopsy is conducted, it is standard practice to include the weight of the various body parts in a PM report before sending them for viscera examination. 

In this particular case, the weight refers to the vagina, not the volume of semen. The PM report also mentions the weight of other organs collected from the victim’s body. For instance, the liver is described as “congested” and weighing 1134 gm; the spleen is declared healthy at 90 gm; the kidneys are also described as “congested” (“wt right-82 gm, left-88 gm”).

An autopsy expert, requesting anonymity, said identifying substances found during an autopsy is the responsibility of forensic experts. “They (forensic experts) first identify the semen collected from the body and then conduct DNA mapping to help police to identify the suspect. If the suspect’s DNA matches with the samples collected from the victim, it will be clinching evidence that the police can submit in court,” he said.       

On social media, countless handles have circulated that 150 grams/milligrams of semen were found in the victim and this was widely reported by mainstream news media, without citing any sources. This statistic has also been included in the petition filed by the victim’s family. “Petitioners state that the post-mortem report provided devastating details that confirmed their worst fears,” says the petition. “The presence of 150 mg of semen in the hymen, a quantity suggesting involvement of more than one individual, further corroborated the suspicion of gang rape.”

Earlier, Commissioner of Kolkata Police Vineet Goyal tried to dispel rumours when he said, “Somebody said it was150gm of semen had been found. I don’t know where they found this kind of information. And it is circulating in the media of all forms. People are now trying to believe it. They are trying to create confusion among the people.” However, the rumour continued and Kolkata Police has struggled to gain the confidence of the public, which has been accusing the police of inaction.  

As per the PM report that Newslaundry has seen, the autopsy surgeon has written “Nil” under the section titled “Fracture and Dislocation”.

NL contacted the victim’s distraught mother who said she had not been told about the findings in the PM report. “I was told by some members of the hospital staff that my daughter’s bones were broken,” she said, adding that this was all she knew of the condition of her daughter’s body.   

In the PM report, the cause of death is mentioned in the space assigned to “opinion of the medical officer”, which reads: “The death was due to the effect of manual strangulation associated with smothering as noted above. Cause of death—homicidal. There is medical evidence of forceful penetration/insertion in her genital. Possibility of sexual assault.”

An officer from Kolkata Police’s homicide department said on condition of anonymity, “The post-mortem report does not mention about involvement of number of persons behind a rape and murder. An autopsy surgeon mentions the nature of injuries on the victim’s body and private parts. Primarily, it is the job of police and forensic experts to ascertain whether it is a case of gang rape. On the basis of evidence collected from the body and the place of occurrence, forensic experts prove it scientifically by identifying presence of number of foreign DNAs on the victim’s body or at the crime scene.” 

After the incident occurred on August 9, Kolkata Police began its investigation and arrested one suspect in the case. On August 13, following an order from Calcutta High Court, the police handed the case over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). When asked if Kolkata Police had ruled out the involvement of more than one person during the five days it had investigated the case, Goyal had said on Friday, “Police never said there was one culprit. Our officers were collecting evidence and forensic experts were working on scientific evidence.”

As part of its investigation of the rumours spread about this case on social media, Kolkata Police has so far summoned at least 60 people. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a police officer told Newslaundry, “Two doctors shared wrong information on a public forum about the reported quantity of semen found on the victim’s body. We will also question them.” The officer said action would be taken against those who would not be able to substantiate their claims on social media with evidence. “The rumour-mongering has been damaging the investigation and could lead to law and order problem,” said the officer.

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