ISLAMABAD, Jan 19: Mystery shrouds the death of Kamran Faisal, the NAB assistant director who was investigating the rental power projects (RPPs) scam, although the preliminarily autopsy report suggested it was a suicide.

A magisterial inquiry under Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Code into the cause of the death is being carried out by a sub-divisional magistrate on the basis of statements by different people concerned. However, the matter is being investigated in detail by police.

Sources close to the medical board which conducted the autopsy said bruises had been found on the body and they had occurred before the death.

There was also a ‘V’ mark left by the hanging around the neck.

The tongue of the deceased was found protruding from the mouth — a sign of strangulation. However, his neck bone was found intact.

A medico-legal expert told Dawn that normally in hanging cases, the greater cornu portion of the hyoid bone was broken, but there was a possibility that it might remain intact if the victim was light or got a jerk of a very low density.

However, Kamran Faisal was bulky and his bone would have broken if he had hanged himself, the MLO suggested.

Hospital sources said only a preliminary autopsy report had been issued and the medical board was waiting for the chemical and histopathology reports before giving its final opinion.

Police were also waiting for the autopsy report and would initiate the legal process in its light.

A lawyer, Raja Inam, said the heirs of the victim could lodge a complaint with a request to register a murder case and could also nominate people as accused.

They could approach a court with a petition under Section 22-A of the CrPC to seek its help in registration of a murder case if police refused to entertain the complaint, he added.

The lawyer said a case could also be registered against unidentified persons under the Pakistan Penal Code for creating circumstances which drove a victim to suicide.