Indian seafarer's body sent back from Venezuela without brain, heart, lungs, intestines — Is it a murder case?

A 33-year-old Indian mariner from Uttar Pradesh reportedly lost his life in Venezuela's Falcon state on 7 May. His body came back to his home country in an abysmal state, without his vital internal organs. Completely hollowed out body of the deceased sailor, identified as Rakesh Chauhan, was repatriated with brain, heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, stomach and intestines missing. Soon after this tragic incident surfaced, India sought an urgent investigation into the case.

Indian Embassy in Caracas issued a statement: "The Embassy of India, Caracas has sought a thorough investigation by Venezuelan authorities on the desecration and removal of organs of the mortal remains of late Shri. Rakesh Chauhan. Mission has continued to pursue this matter with the concerned local authorities since the incident came to light," the embassy said.

While responding to media queries regarding suspicion over state of seafarer's body, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal in a media briefing on Friday said, "We have taken up the matter with Venezuelan authorities with a request to urgently investigate the matter. So, we'll keep you updated in that regard."

Let's find out what happened to Rakesh Chauhan. On the morning of the fateful day, 7 May, the mariner had spoken to his family from the ship. Few hours later, his family was informed that that the seafarer lost consciousness and had collapsed. What followed the news of his critical condition was the news of Rakesh Chauhan's death due to heart attack in Punto Fijo.

It took nearly two months for his body to be returned to India and ultimately to his home. Chauhan's family sought a second post-mortem in UP which raised disturbing questions and suspicion over cause of death. Doctors who performed the autopsy found that vital organs were missing, including brain, heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, stomach and intestines were missing due to which the exact cause of death could not be ascertained.

According to Forward Seamen's Union of India (FSUI), Rakesh's body showed extensive prior stitching and was kept in deep freeze for nearly a month. The trade union which first highlighted the case noted that liver, spleen, pancreas, thyroid, hyoid bone, larynx and trachea were also missing.

FSUI in a statement on X said, “Indian Seafarer Rakesh Chauhan reported dead in Venezuela. Mortal remains sent back to his hometown in Uttar Pradesh without any autopsy report or details from Venezuelan authorities.”

Is Rakesh Chauhan's death a murder case?

Suspecting murder, Chauhan's wife, Ranjana said, “My husband had gone to work on a ship; he was murdered there, and his organs were removed. To this day, they haven't given us a proper report, despite our repeated requests.”

"They didn't even return his personal belongings; they wouldn't even speak to us properly; the company representatives were dismissive," ANI quoted Ranjana as saying.

On learning the results of Chauhan's second post-mortem report, the family lodged complaints with the Ministry of External Affairs in Delhi and other relevant authorities, Ranjana said.

According to Ranjana, she last spoke to her husband on 6 May. Aroundtwo or three hours after he left for work on that day, Rakesh's father received a call saying there had been an accident and that they were taking him to the hospital.

The FSUI pointed to discrepancies and flagged alleged irregularities in the documents provided to Chauhan's family. As per the union, the official receipt for the body was signed under the name "Anjana Chauraisya" instead of his wife's actual name, Ranjana Chaurasiya. Moreover, the vessel mentioned in Chauhan's employment agreement did not match the ship where he was actually posted.