Judge Loya’s Death: Son Rules Out Foul Play Amid Clashing Reports

Brijgopal Harikishan Loya died when he was hearing the Sohrabuddin Sheikh case, where Amit Shah was a prime accused

Justice Brijgopal Harikishan Loya was assigned to hear Sohrabuddin Sheikh case, where BJP chief Amit Shah was a prime accused.

(Photo Courtesy: NDTV)

Justice Brijgopal Harikishan Loya’s son Anuj has said that the family is convinced the judge – who was hearing the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case – died of a heart attack. Anuj told The Times of India that the family did not doubt the “integrity of investigative agencies”.

In a letter to Bombay High Court Chief Justice Manjula Chellur, accessed by The Times of India, Anuj said: "We have full faith in the members of the judiciary who were with him on the night of 30 November"

Anuj’s stance is in sharp contrast to the statements made by Loya’s sister Anuradha Biyani, and father Harikrishan. The two had, in an interview with The Caravan, alleged foul play in the death of the CBI Special Judge in the case where BJP president Amit Shah was a prime suspect.

After The Times of India story broke, Twitterati lashed out at the The Caravan for its original report.

Hartosh Singh Bal Defends The Caravan Article

In a 20 November article, The Caravan quoted members of Loya’s family as alleging that the reported version of the events leading up to the judge’s death, the post-mortem report and the transfer of his body to his village in Latur were riddled with loopholes and unanswered questions. Following its lead, media outlets, NDTV and The Indian Express released their reports, countering the family’s statements.

This has only thrown the ground open for more questions. In an interview with The Wire, Hartosh Singh Bal, political editor at The Caravan, defended the original article by pointing out the discrepancies in The Indian Express and NDTV reports.

The Caravan report quotes the post-mortem report as saying that Loya suffered chest pains at around 4am on 1 December when he was in Nagpur to attend the wedding of a colleague’s daughter.

Bal told The Wire that the ECG that was published by both news outlets had the wrong date. Both outlets claimed to have accessed the ECG from Dande Hospital in Nagpur, where Judge Loya had reportedly been taken after he complained of chest pain. Loya’s sister had told The Caravan that the Dande Hospital didn’t have a functioning ECG.

There could be the possibility of an imported ECG machine displaying a wrong date and time, he said, adding that both channels should have quizzed the hospital authorities on the issue.

He also questioned the credibility of the two High Court judges, Justice Bhushan Gavai and Justice Sunil Shukre, who had told NDTV and Indian Express that there was nothing suspicious about Loya’s death.

The two High Court judges who are mentioned in the two stories, they had no attachment to this case before this. Why didn’t they just issue a press statement if they had all this information, in that case?

Hartosh Singh Bal told The Wire

He added that they were neither first-hand or second-hand witnesses, considering they were not present at the time when Loya had allegedly complained of a chest-pain, or been initially rushed to first Dande Hospital and then Meditrina. Hence, he asks, how could their accounts be counted as credible?

He also highlighted the fact that despite having the same sources, both reports did not add up. While The Indian Express reported that a car that was scheduled to accompany the ambulance ferrying Loya’s body to his family had experienced a lag, NDTV reported that the body was to be accompanied by two lawyers and one police personnel.

He said it was unclear how Prashant Rathi, named in both reports as the “relative” that collected Loya’s body, was informed about his death when his close family members were not. Bal said that the reports backed up the family’s statement to The Caravan that there were drops of blood on the body and that it arrived unaccompanied. 

He told The Wire that instead of investigating the real records and questions behind the case, both outlets seemed focused on refuting the stance of Loya’s family, as told to The Caravan.

The 48-year-old judge died of mysterious circumstances months after he was assigned to hear the case of the alleged fake encounter killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, where BJP chief Amit Shah was a prime accused.(Photo: Liju Joseph/The Quint)

Here’s what The Indian Express and NDTV had said about the case.

How Was Judge Loya Taken to the Hospital?

Loya’s father, Harikrishan Loya told The Caravan: “We were told that he had chest pain, and so was taken to Dande Hospital, a private hospital in Nagpur, by auto rickshaw, where some medication was provided”.

However, according to a 27 November report on the The Indian Express, Bombay High Court judges Justice Bhushan Gavai and Justice Sunil Shukre went to the hospital that day and made arrangements for the transport of the body. “Loya was staying with fellow judges Shridhar Kulkarni and Shriram Madhusudan Modak. He experienced a health problem around 4 am. (Local judge) Vijaykumar Barde and then Deputy Registrar of the Nagpur bench of the High Court Rupesh Rathi first took him to Dande Hospital (3 km from the guest house) in two cars,” Gavai told the daily.

How Did He Die?

Dr PG Dande, the owner of the hospital, told NDTV that Loya was alive when he reached the hospital and claimed that he even climbed a small flight of steps. Dr Dande was quoted as saying that after an ECG test showed a T spike (indicating a heart attack) and advised Loya to go to Meditrina, a specialty heart hospital. Dr Dande told NDTV that Loya was declared dead on arrival at Meditrina hospital.

The Indian Express has accessed a copy of the ECG in question:

The ECG report of Judge Loya at Dande Hospital in Nagpur, as accessed by the Indian Express.(Photo courtesy: The Indian Express)

However, Anuradha Biyani, Loya’s sister, who is a doctor, told The Caravan that she “later learnt that the ECG” at the Dande hospital “was not working.”

Records at Meditrina accessed by The Indian Express, show that Loya suffered “retrosternal chest pain and had collapsed” while being brought to the hospital.

“Immediately, resuscitation was started after reaching to hospital. Emergency treatment of DC (direct current) shocks of 200 J was given multiple times. CPR (Cardiopulmonary resuscitation) continued as per protocol. But in spite of all efforts, patient couldn’t be revived,” the daily quotes the Meditrina file on Loya as saying.

Justice Gavai(Photo courtesy: Hitavada News)

“There was absolutely nothing suspicious about the death or the events around it,” Justice Gavai told The Indian Express.

However, Biyani told The Caravan that it didn’t make sense to her that her brother had died of a heart attack, considering he did not have medical or genetic history of the disease.

“I am a doctor myself, and Brij used to consult me even for minor complaints such as acidity or cough. He had no cardiac history and no one from our family has it,” she told the magazine.

What About the Post-Mortem Report?

The post-mortem report by the Government Medical College Hospital in Nagpur, accessed by The Caravan, states Loya “died on 1/12/14 at 0615 hours” after experiencing “chest pains at 0400 am”. But the family told the magazine that they had started receiving calls about his passing since 5 am.

The Meditrina hospital, The Indian Express reports, had reportedly advised a post-mortem to be carried out after Loya’s passing, to ascertain his cause of death.

The Caravan report claims that “the paternal cousin brother of the deceased” collected the body. It quotes Loya’s father as saying: “I do not have any brother or paternal cousin brother in Nagpur… Who signed on the report is another unanswered question.” However, The Indian Express reports that Prashant Rathi, a doctor, collected the body. He told the daily that his uncle Rukmesh Pannalal Jakotia had called him. “He said his cousin (judge Loya) had been admitted to Meditrina hospital and asked me to help him. When I reached the hospital, doctors told me he was no more. I conveyed this to my uncle. He asked me to take care of the formalities,” Rathi told the daily.

According to Indian Express, just before the post-mortem, a panchnama (an inventory of possessions) was conducted in the presence of two panches, Rajesh Dhande and Rameshwar Wankhede. However, the family reported that it had not received any copy of the panchama.

Loya’s family told The Caravan that there were bloodstains on his body. “There was blood on his collar. His belt was twisted in the opposite direction, and the pant clip is broken. Even my uncle feels that this is suspicious,” Biyani told the magazine.

However, The Indian Express report quotes a senior forensic official as saying that some blood is bound to spill during a post-mortem.

How Was the Body Taken to Latur?

NDTV quoted joint commissioner of Nagpur police, Shivaji Bhokde, as saying that two judiciary officials, and a police constable were inside the ambulance with the driver on the way to Latur, 10-and-a-half hour away.

However, as Loya’s family told The Caravan and NDTV, when the ambulance arrived, Loya’s body was accompanied only by the driver. “We kept waiting here (Latur) for the dead body to arrive and when the dead body arrived it was in an ambulance with the driver and nobody else,” Srinivas Loya, Justice Loya’s uncle told NDTV.

However, The Indian Express, quotes Justice Gavai as refuting Biyani’s claim.

“I had personally told then Principal District Judge KK Sonawane to send two judges along with the body. The two judges were Yogesh Rahangdale and Swayam Chopda, both Civil Judges, Junior Division,” Gavai told The Indian Express.

The mystery surrounding the death of Loya appears to be deepening, with every new finding further adding to the number of unanswered questions.

(This story has been updated to reflect the views of Justice Brijgopal Harikishan Loya’s son.)