Jabalpur, April 8 – Almost a year after the burial of Gayasuddin Qureshi following his death, his body was exhumed on Wednesday in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, bringing renewed focus on the unanswered questions surrounding his death and his family's prolonged fight for clarity.
The exhumation was carried out under the supervision of the Adhartal Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), following strict directions from the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
Notably, a division bench comprising Justice Vivek Agarwal and Justice A.K. Singh had recently requested that the process be completed within a fixed timeframe and that a post-mortem be conducted on the same day.
Soon after the exhumation, the body was sent to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Medical College, where doctors are expected to conduct a detailed post-mortem to determine the exact cause of Gayasuddin Qureshi's death, an official said on Wednesday.
Gayasuddin Qureshi had died on March 27, 2025.
At the time, his body was buried without a post-mortem, as his family members had claimed.
However, months later, his brother, Kasimuddin Qureshi, a resident of Jabalpur, raised suspicions, pointing to injury marks noted in medical records and alleging that the death may not have been accidental.
In his appeal, Kasimuddin had said that the discharge summary from Jabalpur hospital mentioned the injury marks on his brother's chest, and had added that the death could not be presumed as natural and had sought a fresh post-mortem.
Taking a serious view, the court had said that exhumation was necessary to uncover the truth and ensure that justice is not denied due to procedural lapses.
The court had also flagged concerns over the police's initial handling of the case, particularly the decision to conduct a preliminary inquiry without registering an FIR despite allegations of a cognisable offence.
The court had also directed the Narsinghpur Superintendent of Police, Rishikesh Meena, to file a personal affidavit explaining the legal basis for such action.
As the post-mortem report is awaited, the case now hinges on medical findings that could determine whether the death was accidental or involved foul play – potentially paving the way for a criminal investigation.