CBI lookout notice in Amity student death case

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has issued a lookout circular against Sayan Roy, one of the accused in the mysterious death of Amity University student Justin John Xavier in 2009, said a senior official on Monday.

Sayan Roy is son of Atanu Roy, a resident of Kolkata.

An award-winning swimmer, Justin's body was found in the university swimming pool in Noida on September 3, 2009. The post-mortem report said he had died of drowning.

Justin, 18 at the time of the tragedy, was pursuing a five-year course in aerospace and avionics.

According to his father John Xavier, Justin was nearly six-feet-tall and the water in the pool was not even five-feet deep. "He had sustained an injury on his left knee a few days before and had told me he would not swim for a few days. I suspected that some senior students had ragged him," he said.

"During the initial investigation, the university tried to hide things. I was also not satisfied with the police investigation against the three accused -- Sayan Roy, Shashank Hari Vyas and Jatin Kulkarni -- in the case. When I approached the Kerala High Court, which transferred the case to the CBI in 2010," said John.

In 2014, a special CBI court ordered re-opening of the case, after rejecting the first closure report filed by the agency.

Meanwhile, a second autopsy conducted by a panel of doctors in Kerala revealed that Justin had injuries on his head and back, which were further confirmed by a government hospital in Chandigarh.

In 2017, the court rejected CBI's second closure report as well and issued directions to the accused to face trial on charges of murder, criminal conspiracy and destruction of evidence.

In 2018, the Special CBI court issued a non-bailable warrant against Jatin Kulkarni and summoned Sayan Roy and Shashank Hari Vyas in the case.

"None of the accused have been arrested yet. I will continue to fight to make sure that my son gets justice," said John.

There was no response from Amity University despite several calls.

(Advitya Bahl can be contacted on advitya.b@ians.in)

---IANS

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