BHOPAL: A Bhopal court on Wednesday rejected former model-actor Twisha Sharma’s parents’ plea for a second post-mortem at AIIMS-Delhi, even as the Madhya Pradesh government expressed willingness for a CBI probe and re-autopsy if ordered by a court.
The judicial magistrate first class (JMFC) court in Bhopal also directed the Katara Hills Police to urgently ascertain whether ultra-low temperature preservation facilities are available at other higher medical institutions in Madhya Pradesh or metropolitan cities in the state, after concerns were raised about preserving Twisha’s body.
The court observed that the body was currently being kept at AIIMS-Bhopal at minus 40 degrees Celsius, while authorities at the institute had informed that preservation at minus 80 degrees Celsius was required. It further noted that no such facility was available elsewhere in Bhopal.
Legal representatives for Twisha’s father said the court held that ordering a second post-mortem at AIIMS-Delhi fell outside its territorial jurisdiction.
The developments came on a day of significant action in the high-profile alleged dowry death and harassment case involving Twisha’s husband, advocate Samarth Singh, and his retired judge mother Giribala Singh.
With the SIT probing the case, unable to trace Samarth Singh, who has been absconding since a local court rejected his anticipatory bail plea two days ago, Bhopal Police Commissioner Sanjay Kumar increased the reward for information leading to his arrest from Rs 10,000 to Rs 30,000.
In another important development, Twisha’s father Navnidhi Sharma has written to the state’s Governor Mangubhai C Patel to remove Twisha’s ex-judge mother-in-law Giribala Sharma as the president of Bhopal District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, pending completion of investigation and connected proceedings arising out of the dowry death and harassment case registered against her and son Samarth on May 15 at Bhopal’s Katara Hills Police Station.
A District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (DCDRC), or District Forum, is a quasi-judicial body that handles consumer grievances and disputes at the district level. It operates under the Consumer Protection Act to provide speedy, accessible, and cost-effective justice for consumer complaints
Navnidhi Sharma and her brother Major Harshit Sharma, accompanied by ex-servicemen, also met Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav in Bhopal. The chief minister reportedly assured the family that he would recommend a CBI probe into the case and support a re-post mortem if directed by a competent court. He also assured the family that the body could be sent to Delhi.
While Samarth Singh’s anticipatory bail plea has been rejected, his mother Giribala Singh was granted anticipatory bail by a Bhopal court in the same case.
Addressing journalists on Wednesday, Police Commissioner Sanjay Kumar cited the final post-mortem report prepared by doctors at AIIMS-Bhopal following the autopsy conducted on May 13 and said the findings pointed to suicide rather than murder.
“Detailed autopsy report indicates that she wasn’t murdered, but died by suicide. Mention of antemortem hanging by ligature and other relevant aspects in the report indicate that she died by suicide,” he said.
According to informed sources, the report mentioned death due to antemortem hanging along with multiple simple antemortem injuries on other parts of the body. It also referred to an alleged medical termination of pregnancy undergone by Twisha a week before her death, following which her uterus was preserved for histopathological examination at AIIMS-Bhopal.
In a related communication, Katara Hills Police informed Twisha’s father that while it had no objection to a second post-mortem, prolonged storage of the body without the required freezing facilities could lead to decomposition. Police subsequently requested the family to claim the body.
The Katara Hills Police had registered a case of dowry death and harassment against Samarth Singh and Giribala Singh on May 15.
