Islamabad - A team of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) doctors on Tuesday performed forensic autopsy of the deceased Reuters’ Bureau Chief for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Maria Golovnina, with the doctors not ruling out any foul play.
The Islamabad-based journalist died a sudden death in the federal capital a day earlier on Monday.
The team examined her body parts including brain, heart, lungs, liver, kidney and stomach closely, meticulously, and under-magnification, and collected samples to be sent to Punjab Forensic Laboratory, Lahore, for chemical examination. The sources said that the team noted no abnormalities as they examined heart and lungs of the deceased.
A member of the medical board told The Nation on condition of anonymity that there was no obvious cause of death so far. However, he said, the team found her nails, lips and neck turned bluish. He said such symptoms are noticed in natural deaths as well as heart attack. However, he said, “We cannot rule out any suspicious activity.” The forensic report will help determine whether any foul play was involved or not, he added.
The team also checked the clothing and skin for any marks. According to the sources, the deceased had blue marks around her neck which, according to Vice-Chancellor PIMS Dr Javed Akram, is an indication of either she was struck by heart failure or fell short of oxygen. “It can go either way…it would be premature to say anything at this point in time. We will correlate the forensic report with the circumstances which led to her death so as to reach a conclusion,” he told media persons.
Maria had died a sudden death, leaving behind a plethora of queries pertaining to the time and cause of death, damage to the body and type of death (suicide, murder, natural causes). The medical team also took blood sample which can be used to determine if the victim was on drugs, had been using alcohol, or whether there was poisoning, the sources said. A urine sample was also taken from the bladder to detect drugs or poisons.
The sources said that the medical team, which performed the autopsy, headed by Dr Naseer Ahmad (Forensic Department Head) and assisted by Dr Muhammad Farrukh Kamal (MLO) and Dr Nasreen Butt (MLO) is likely to issue a provisional autopsy report today (Wednesday). However, the final forensic report is likely to take time ranging from one week to one month, they added.
The dead body was lying at the PIMS mortuary till the filing of this report which will be returned to the surviving family members for onward shifting to Russia, once the legal procedure is completed, said the police sources.