Mumbai: Patna youth Rahul Raj was not shot dead at point blank range but from a distance of more than 12 feet after he hijacked a commuter bus with 23 passengers on board here Oct 27, an official said Saturday quoting from a forensic report on the incident.

The report of the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) was handed over to the police Friday evening, according to an official.

Rahul's killing had sparked a heated controversy and it was alleged in some quarters, including by several Bihar political leaders, that the unemployed youth was shot at point blank range after he opened indiscriminate fire inside the BEST bus.

Following this, samples of the victim's skin around the bullet wound were sent to the FSL, which proved negative.

The official said that according to the report, Rahul was shot from a distance of more than 12 feet.

The police are expected to send the report to the state government since Chief Secretary Johny Joseph had conducted an inquiry into the incident.

Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh had ordered the inquiry into the incident, which happened at the height of the anti-migrant agitation launched by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) last month which culminated in the arrest of its president Raj Thackeray.

 

Source : ians