"The provisional cause of death has been identified as aspiration of a grey-brownish matter. There are multiple injuries on the body, but they are non-fatal," a police official said on condition of anonymity, even as neither top police officials nor spokespersons for the government-run Goa Medical College, where the post-mortem was conducted, were willing to speak on the record about the provisional findings.
Ohio-born Caitanya Lila Holt died mysteriously, reportedly choking on mud in the paddy field in Korgao village in North Goa, as he was chased by villagers and policemen after being mistaken for a thief.
It was also alleged in a section of the media that Holt was also beaten up by some individuals in the mob, who chased the deceased.
US embassy officials are already in Goa to formally enquire about the fatal incident and to attend the post-mortem proceedings.
The police official also said that a viscera sample had also been extracted and would be sent for forensic analysis to a central government-run forensic institute either in Mumbai or in Hyderabad.
The death of Holt, which occurred around 35 km from Panaji, also found an echo in the legislative assembly on Friday.
While the Opposition alleged that Holt's death was technically murder, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar termed the incident unfortunate and said the American accidentally died.
Police earlier said Holt was acting in an "erratic manner", giving villagers the impression that he was a thief. He went to the homes of villagers and asked irrational questions, which made the people suspicious. They began chasing him, and the pursuit ended at the field.
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