Batcha died of asphyxia, cause not known: doctors

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 in Chennai on Thursday. "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 until the forensic report is received," he told mediapersons, adding that the entire autopsy was videographed. A team of doctors performed the autopsy at Royapettah Hospital for nearly three hours starting at 10 am.

Some tense moments were witnessed at the venue when angry relatives of Batcha shouted slogans against the media. The police, however, pacified them. The body was later handed over to Batcha's relatives and the burial is expected to be done in Perambalur, Batcha's hometown.

Batcha was found hanging from the ceiling of the bedroom of his house in Teynampet in south Chennai by his wife Rekha Banu and his driver.

His wife claimed that he committed suicide because he was 'unable to cope with the pressure' of the probe. Batcha, whose official and residential premises were raided by the Central Bureau of Investigation 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.

The Tamil Nadu government has transferred the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation.