New Delhi:
Twisha Sharma’s family has to make a difficult decision.
The 33-year-old woman was found hanging on the terrace of her in-laws’ Bhopal home late on May 12, barely five months after her marriage. Her body that has been kept at AIIMS Bhopal mortuary since May 13 is decomposing, the police have informed the family.
The parents, who have refused to accept their daughter’s body until a second post-mortem is conducted, have been asked to take it back.
“Twisha’s body has been kept in the mortuary for a prolonged period and is highly likely to decompose. Therefore, we request that you kindly make arrangements to collect the body,” the police said in a letter to the family.
The victim’s father, Navnidhi Sharma, claimed that his daughter was being subjected to various forms of abuse, including physical abuse.
Read: Probe Into Twisha Sharma’s Death Under Scanner Over A Belt, Mix-Ups In FIR
“Right now, the body has been kept at -4 degrees Celsius at AIIMS Bhopal mortuary. To prevent the body from decomposing, it must be kept at -80 degrees Celsius. This facility is not available at AIIMS Bhopal,” the police said in its letter to the family.
The first post-mortem was completed on May 13. The police have no objection to conducting a re-postmortem, the letter said.
WhatsApp chats between Twisha and her mother, Rekha Sharma, have revealed that she felt “trapped” in an unhappy marriage and faced mental torture and dowry harassment by her in-laws.
Read: Miss Pune To Corporate Star: How Twisha Sharma’s Dream Life Ended In Tragedy
The victim’s family in a fresh statement on Wednesday said “an independent medical opinion from a premier national institution will help restore public confidence in the investigation”.
“After all forensic procedures are complete, Twisha’s mortal remains can be cremated peacefully and with dignity,” Twisha’s father said.
Read: In Twisha Sharma’s Post-Mortem, Crucial Evidence Was Missing
Earlier, the police announced a reward of Rs 10,000 for information leading to the arrest of Samarth Singh, the victim’s lawyer husband and the prime accused in the case.
The preliminary post-mortem report from AIIMS Bhopal noted the presence of multiple injury marks on Twisha Sharma’s body.
According to the post-mortem report, the Investigating Officer did not produce the belt allegedly used for hanging before the doctors during the examination. As a result, the medical team could not scientifically compare the alleged hanging instrument with the ligature marks found on the woman’s neck.
Twisha’s family has maintained that this lapse has damaged the evidentiary value of a critical piece of material evidence. The alleged nylon belt, which police said was recovered from the crime scene, could have played a crucial role in establishing the exact cause and manner of death.
Two parallel ligature marks on Twisha Sharma’s neck have further complicated the probe.
Without the belt being available during the medical examination, a scientific correlation could not be carried out.
Expressing deep pain and anger, Navnidhi Sharma allegedly said the medical reports shown to the family do not match the ground evidence available.
He alleged that several solid proofs suggest an attempt to mislead the investigation, forcing the family to demand a fresh post-mortem examination.
The grieving father questioned how the family could accept the body when the entire case appears highly suspicious.
He claimed there is a massive difference between the medical report and the physical evidence.