Batcha died of asphyxia: Doctor

Chennai, Mar 17: Former Telecom Minister A Raja's key aide Sadiq Batcha, who allegedly committed suicide in mysterious circumstances, died of asphyxia, a doctor who conducted the post-mortem said today.

"We cannot say now whether it was suicide or murder.. the report will be ready in two weeks," Dr V Dekal said.

"The death was caused due to asphyxia but the cause of that cannot be confirmed till the forensic report is received," he told reporters here, adding, the entire autopsy was videographed.

A team of doctors performed the autopsy at the Government Royapettah Hospital here for nearly three hours after it started at around 10 am.

Some tense moments were witnessed at the venue when angry relatives of Batcha, who was found hanging at his house on Wednesday, shouted slogans against the media. Police, however, pacified them.

The body was later handed over to Batcha's relatives and the burial expected to be done in Perambalur, Batcha's native place.

38-year-old Batcha,who was the Managing Director of Greenhouse Promoters, a firm under the scanner of the CBI as well as the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the 2G spectrum scam, was said to have been found hanging from the roof of the bedroom of his house in Teynampet in South Chennai by his wife Rekha Banu and his driver. His wife claimed that he did it "unable to cope with the pressure" of the probe.

Batcha, whose official and residential premises were raided by CBI and questioned at least four times in the last two months, had left a suicide note in which he had stated that he was "embarrassed" by the raids and the extensive media coverage of them.

Tamil Nadu government has transferred the case of suicide to CBI.

PTI