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Was Harbhajan’s nephew murdered in Melbourne?
“He finished his shift at around 4pm and came home, cleaned the house and started cooking, while waiting for us to get back. Bhaji cooked Punjabi Chhole, as he used to like Punjabi Chhole a lot, a dish he cooked whenever he was in a festive mood” Harender continued.
“But when I came back from the uni, I found the house (flat) was locked and I did not have the key. I did not want to wake Bhaji up ( because he used to do earlyu shift) and decided to wait for Kamal (Jit Oberoi) the third housemate.
“I did see police around the (Railway) tracks and also saw a body lying underneath the train parallel to the tracks; I saw somebody’s feet in darkness (under the train as half the train had crossed the point where the body was lying) but how could I even contemplate it could be Bhaji’s” said a very emotional Harender.
After he got back into the flat, a little later the police came and told Harender that Upkar had died as he had committed suicide by throwing himself in front of train. “The Police told me that as per the statement of the Train Driver, Upkar had been standing near the track and as the train approached him at 50kmh, he threw himself before the train” Harender told BT.
When asked if he was allowed to see the body the same night to identify the deceased, Harender recalls that Police had already identified the body and allowed him to see the body only the next day, 8 May.
“I could only the face from the forehead to the chin, everything else was covered”.
As to Upkar’s personal belongings, Harender confirmed that Upkar’s mobile phone and wallet were at home and not with him at the scene of the accident.
There is a conflicting account as to the conduct of the autopsy and the record of the cause of death on the death certific ate. According to Harender the Coroner’s Court did not do anything for three days, assertion supported by Upkar’s family’s letter to Australian High Commission in New Delhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, first saying they would do it and then saying to him that the body could be taken to India as ‘they now knew what had happened.’
According to the Death Certificate from the Registry dated 11 May, Autopsy was held although the cause of death is recorded as ‘yet to be established’.
This Death Certificate was followed by a letter from the Coroner’s Court dated 11 June 2009. The letter states that one of the Pathologists at the Victorian institute of Forensic Medicine has concluded that the death of Upkar Singh “resulted from 1(a) injuries sustained when stuck by a train”.
Th family disputes that completely. Upkar’s father Jagjit Singh talking to Bharat Times from Jalandher (India) over the phone said, “They say Upkar died when he threw himself in front of the train, we cannot accept that at all. One, because he had no reason to do such a silly thing, he was happy and well settled and no problems of any sort which could push him to feel depressed. His coming back home from work, handing over the taxi to the other shift driver and saying to him that he would see him (tomorrow) the next day shows that he did not entertain any thoughts of not seeing him (the other driver) ever again. Secondly he cleaned the house, cooked one of his favourite dishes he would cook when he was in a mood to celebrate tells us that he did not have any worries on his mind. Thirdly, he had no girl friend nor were we forcing him to marry someone rather he was building a house back in India and used to work hard and send money for that.”
The other reason his family disputes the suicide theory of throwing himself in front of the train is the fact that Upkar’s body was in one piece complete and in good shape even when it reached India. His father told BT, “When we received the body, it was still soft and no part of the body was damaged; I checked his body completely, even his feet and legs and there was no sign of having been hit by a train, they would bend normal.... when you are hit by a train, you do not land underneath the train with your body intact - it would be blown into pieces”.
Upkar’s family firmly believe he has been murdered by someone and thrown on the railway track.
“He has been hit with rod and then his body was thrown” his father told BT. “Our life is now finished. At 62, I cannot complete the house he was building; I had only one son and he is no more, nothing is left in our lives to live for... I still cry at least 20 times a day and cannot get over the loss”.
His cousin Harender back in Melbourne is also of the view that Upkar has been murdered by someone. “I am sure somebody has killed him, cannot say who. He did not have a large circle of friends and was close only to two or three friends... we did have a fight with a group of Indian students at a Night Club about a week before his death but that was I feel not a big enough one”, Harender continued.
Another reason cited in the letter Upkar’s family has sent to the AHC that is the fact that Upkar’s face when body was received by his family was swollen and they say “when local doctor examined everything according to him it was because of a trauma. According to him very clearly it didn’t look like a suicide committed in front of the train.”
As BT revealed in it June edition Cricketer and Uncle Harbhajan Singh has also written to the Australian authorities to look into the matter absolutely carefully as he believes his nephew had no reason to commit suicide.
“Our family can't accept suicide claims made by police as Upkar was quite happy in Australia and was almost settled there...I want justice to my family in the form of independent probe into the cause of death of my nephew, so that the case could be taken to its logical conclusion," Harbhajan said.
Problems if body found as claimed
If Upkar’s body was found lying in the middle of the railway track - “parallel to the tracks, underneath the train when half of the train had gone past his body, as Harender told BT, then it is difficult to comprehend how one could throw himself (understandably from a side) in front of a moving train approaching you at the speed of 50kmh, and land in that situation. The body of the deceased would end up in pieces. While BT has not seen pictures taken at the scene of death, Upkar’s pics received by BT show his body was intact and in one piece.
As BT reported the death of another Indian student last month, who had also allegedly thrown himself in front of a moving train, his body was brought to the Coroner’s Court, in a bin bag, in pieces.
As the illustration (see inset pic) shows the front of a Rail Coach leaves very little margin for a human slip under the moving train safely.
While doing the story BT contacted the Coroner’s Court to check whether the proper procedures were followed and whether the Autopsy was held within 72 hours of the death of Upkar, Laura (who BT spoke to) ‘could neither confirm nor deny any allegations. And when BT put the allegations of the family to Laura, she said these were very serious allegations but still would not be able to confirm or deny anything. However BT understands the Coroner Court is waiting for the police brief and then the Coronial investigation will start.
BT also contacted the local police station but could not speak to the officers-in-charge of the investigation.
On behalf of Upkar’s family, Sanket Shah has told the AHC:
“We at no cost by any means can believe the same and when his body was brought to India along with the official document, the story seems to be completely different and this matter needs serious attention, investigation and most importantly justice. We have lost Upkar and we may not be able to change that but we want clarifications with necessary proofs and documents.”
It may be a very long hard and mentally agonizingly distressing road ahead of family whose only son was Upkar Singh, young, bright and such a transient star of Punjab.
- a staff writer with DM
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