More than 50 days after the alleged custodial death of Border Security Force (BSF) constable Jaswinder Singh, his family continues to wait for answers as the investigation remains mired in delays, missing evidence and unanswered questions.The case has now taken a serious turn, with concerns emerging over the disappearance of crucial CCTV footage and the continued delay in receiving the viscera report, considered vital to determining the exact cause of death.The controversy began after 35-year-old Jaswinder Singh, a BSF constable posted with the 42 Battalion in Tripura, died under suspicious circumstances on March 30 after nearly three weeks in the custody of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in connection with a drug-related case.Jaswinder, who hailed from the border village of Diwangarh, was reportedly picked up by the NCB on March 3 while he was on leave and travelling with his mother for her medicines. His family alleges that during the detention period, they were denied access to him and remained unaware of his condition.According to the family, Jaswinder managed to make a distress call from the NCB office in Jammu, claiming he was being subjected to severe torture by officials. The allegations gained further traction after the post-mortem examination reportedly revealed 34 external injuries on his body, including injuries to his private parts.The autopsy report stated that all the injuries were ante-mortem in nature. It noted that nearly 25 injuries had been inflicted two to four days prior to death, while nine injuries were sustained within 18 to 24 hours before death. The report also estimated the interval between death and the post-mortem examination at 24 to 48 hours.However, the exact cause of death has been kept pending until the receipt of the chemical examiner’s report from Kharar, further fuelling suspicion surrounding the case.The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently intervened in the matter and directed authorities to preserve CCTV footage from both the private hospital where Jaswinder was admitted and the NCB office where he had been detained.The directions were issued by Justice Surya Partap Singh during the hearing of a petition filed by Lovejeet Kour alias Lovejeet Kaur against the Union of India and others. Counsel for the petitioner informed the court that there was an imminent risk of crucial footage being erased if immediate directions were not issued.“On the application filed by the petitioner seeking direction to the respondent for preserving the CCTV footage of the hospital as well as of the NCB office, as in case of delay the same is likely to be washed off, a direction is hereby given to respondent to preserve the above-mentioned CCTV footage,” the court observed in its May 18 order.The matter has now been adjourned to July 16 after counsel appearing for the respondents sought additional time to file a detailed reply.Significantly, during the ongoing inquest proceedings before Judicial Magistrate Ankita Gupta, the private hospital authorities reportedly informed the court in writing that the CCTV footage was no longer available as the institution maintained only a 10-day backup.Sarabjit Singh, legal counsel for the family, questioned the explanation and said the disappearance of the footage had raised serious concerns.“There are prescribed norms requiring commercial establishments to preserve surveillance footage for a much longer period. The loss of such crucial evidence raises suspicion,” he said.The NCB has denied allegations of custodial torture and earlier maintained that Jaswinder suffered a cardiac issue while being transported from Jammu to Tarn Taran via Amritsar on March 20 in connection with recovery proceedings in the case.In the aftermath of the controversy, NCB investigating officer Akash Rai and Assistant Director Amit Kumar, who was on deputation from the Army with the agency, were suspended.Lovejeet Kaur, while talking to The Tribune, said the delay in securing forensic reports and preserving electronic evidence was steadily eroding the family’s faith in the process and deepening fears that critical facts surrounding Jaswinder Singh’s death may never fully come to light.“It has been two months. Why has the viscera report not been given? We have the post-mortem report, which clearly indicates custodial torture. Why has no action been taken on it? The authorities should have registered an FIR and arrested the suspected officials,” she said.