Suspecting foul play, family members of a suspect who was shot dead by police last month have filed an application to exhume his body and for a second post-mortem to be conducted.

Lawyer M Visvanathan said two applications for inquest had been filed for both Mohammad Shahril Sugumaran Abdullah and S Uvarajan (photo) at the Shah Alam High Court on Sept 1.

This is because both men’s families were unsatisfied with the conditions of their bodies, which were found to have other wounds apart from bullet injuries.

“We feel that exhuming Shahril’s body would somewhat explain his cause of death.

“In the case of Uvarajan, since the body has been cremated, there will be no request for a second post-mortem,” said Visvanathan in a press conference held at the Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) headquarters in Petaling Jaya today.

The inquest into the shooting case of both men would further explain how the purported shootout had occurred, he said.

Visvanathan (photo) also confirmed that he has requested for the two cases to be consolidated to be heard before one judge.

The two were killed in a shootout with police at the Selayang-Kepong Expressway in the wee hours on Aug 19.

Selangor criminal investigation head Mohd Adnan Abdullah previously said the incident occurred after police noticed a car being driven in a suspicious manner.

The police gave chase after the car attempted to crash through a road block.

The two suspects then allegedly fired at the police, leading to shots being fired back, resulting in their deaths.

Mohd Adnan said police believed the suspects were involved in four murder cases reported in the Klang Valley.

Uvarajan’s brother, S Devendran (photo), however, said he was told by an officer at the Gombak police district headquarters that his brother was only involved in one case – a fight.

“When I asked why (Malay daily) Harian Metro said my brother was involved in four cases, the officer said, 'don't believe what the media say'. But it was a police officer (Mohd Adnan) who gave the statement to the media,” he said.

Devendran also questioned the other wounds, such as handcuff marks, found on his brother’s body.

“I just want to know why this has happened. My brother was only 22 and he was only involved in one case.

“If you want to punish him, there are other ways to do it, not by shooting him to his death,” he said.

Meanwhile, Shahril’s mother, P Saratha, who was visibly upset and had trouble speaking due to breathing difficulties, asked why her son was subjected to such a predicament.

“He was the one who took care of me. My youngest child is still in school and I'm sick.

“Why did they torture my son? Now he’s gone, who’s going to take care of me?” cried the 53-year-old.

Shahril (photo), 26, was due to be married this year to his fiancée Razilah Bibi Abdul Rashied, 24.

After the purported shootout, Mohd Adnan said police had found two pistols, drugs, nine handphones and identity cards belonging to other individuals in the car.

Asked about this, Visvanathan said this would be verified during the inquest.

“What the family wants is to tell the police not to object to this (inquest) and to support it,” he said.

This is not the first time that deaths involving the police have been questioned.

The Court of Appeal, earlier this month, found the police and government liable for the deaths of three youths in 2010.

They were accused of robbing several petrol stations. The police who shot them dead claimed the three were armed with machetes, and attacked them after they were cornered.