Cuttack: The Orissa high court has ordered a crime branch probe into the death of Md Azim Uddin, a nursing student whose body was found inside his hostel room in Bhubaneswar last year, observing that the police had filed the final report “hastily” and without proper investigation.Justice Savitri Ratho, while disposing of a criminal miscellaneous petition filed by the deceased’s sister, Sagupta Parveen, on May 11, directed Chandaka police to hand over the case diary and all related records to the superintendent of police, crime branch, within 10 days for fresh investigation by a competent officer.Parveen had approached the high court seeking directions to the deputy commissioner of police, Bhubaneswar, to act on her FIR, conduct a fair probe and take action against persons allegedly involved in the “brutal murder” of her brother.According to the case records, the case was registered at Chandaka police station on Nov 17 last year. Azim, a student of Biswas School & College of Nursing, was found hanging from an iron-frame door with a plastic rope inside a hostel room on Nov 16. Some students allegedly broke open the door, cut the rope and, along with the hostel warden, took him to Mendhasala Hospital where he was declared dead.During the hearing, the court examined the case diary and an affidavit filed by the investigating officer. “I am satisfied that the final report has been filed hastily without proper investigation,” Justice Ratho observed while ordering reinvestigation by the crime branch “in the interest of justice”.HC had earlier, in an order dated April 7, 2026, raised serious questions over the conduct of the investigation. The court noted that the chemical examination report of the viscera samples was issued on March 2, 2026, after the final report had already been filed on Feb 28.The court also pointed out that the report relating to examination of the deceased’s mobile phone by the State Forensic Science Laboratory (SFSL) had not been received when the final report was submitted. “It is apparent that the final report has been submitted hurriedly even though there was no accused in custody and the matter was under consideration by this court,” the HC had observed.Following the court’s direction, the inspector-in-charge of Chandaka police station filed an affidavit on May 6, stating that based on medical opinion, witness statements, the spot of hanging and circumstantial evidence, the death of the student prima facie appeared to be a case of suicidal hanging. The affidavit further stated that the investigation could be reopened if incriminating evidence surfaced from the SFSL report or any other source.
