301. Inquiries into unnatural or suspicious deaths by presidents or selected members of panchayats or by presidents or members of union boards and Forest Officers.
(a)When a president or a selected member of a Panchayat or the president or vice-president or a selected member of a union board, who is authorized by the District Magistrate to enquire into the circumstances of unnatural deaths in which there is no suspicion of suicide or foul play, makes such an enquiry, he shall forward a report signed by two relatives of the deceased, or if there are none available, by two respectable inhabitants of the neighbourhood to the officer-in-charge of the police-station (within the limits of which the death occurred) who shall forward the report to the Court officer through the Circle Inspector unless there is any obvious error or irregularity in the report in which case he will record the first information and return the report to the sender for correction. On receipt of such report, the officer-in-charge of the police-station shall not proceed to the spot or hold an enquiry, unless he has reason to suspect the occurrence of suicide or foul play.(b)Similar enquiries subject to the same conditions as prescribed above may be made within their respective jurisdictions in forest areas (except of the Darjeeling division), where there is no chaukidari union or union board, by Sub-divisional Forest officers or Range officers who may be authorised by the District Officer for the purpose.
