The Unnao Police in Uttar Pradesh on Monday sent viscera samples of Yunus Khan to the Lucknow Forensic Science Laboratory for testing as an autopsy could not ascertain the cause of his death, reported The Indian Express. Khan, who died on August 19, was a witness in the murder case of a man whose teenage daughter was allegedly raped by a Bharatiya Janata Party legislator in Unnao.

On Saturday, the Unnao district administration exhumed Khan’s body amid protests by his family who said it was carried out without their consent. Khan’s wife Shabina Khatoon and other family members even tried to immolate themselves.

Sub-divisional Magistrate of Hasanganj (Unnao) Suraj Kumar Yadav said the autopsy was conducted on Saturday by a panel of three doctors. “The procedure was videographed,” Yadav said. “Doctors could not ascertain the cause of death. They have preserved the viscera for further examination.”

Yadav said Khan’s body was buried at the same spot on Sunday and all rituals were followed. “Yunus’ [Khan] family members were present. No one protested over it,” he added.

Circle Officer of Safipur (Unnao) Vipin Ranjan Rai said the viscera containing vital organs was sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory in Lucknow. “No injuries were found on the body,” he added.

Khan’s body was exhumed after the rape complainant’s family had demanded that an autopsy be done. In a letter to the police on August 22, the woman’s uncle alleged he was “murdered as part of a conspiracy”.

Khan’s family, however, claimed he died of a liver ailment and his wife has accused the complainant’s family of offering them a bribe. “She wrote that she was offered Rs 8 lakh by the survivor’s uncle to sign some paper,” Unnao Superintendent of Police Harish Kumar had said.

The Unnao rape case

A teenage girl accused BJP legislator from Bangermau in Unnao district Kuldeep Singh Sengar of raping her in June 2017 and tried to commit suicide outside Chief Minister Adityanath’s house on April 8. The Central Bureau of Investigation arrested Sengar 11 days after she tried to commit suicide.

A day after her attempted suicide, the girl’s father died in judicial custody after he was allegedly assaulted by the MLA’s brother and others. Sengar faces an additional charge of criminal conspiracy for allegedly framing the girl’s father in an Arms Act case, for which he was placed in judicial custody.