Twisha Sharma death case: Kin urged to take custody of body amid decomposition concerns

Bhopal: The city police on Wednesday urged the family of Twisha Sharma, the daughter-in-law of a retired judge who was found hanging at her marital home here, to take custody of her body amid concerns that it could begin decomposing while they await a fresh autopsy nod.

Twisha's body has been kept in the mortuary of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bhopal, since her postmortem examination was conducted on May 13.

Citing a communication from AIIMS, the police said preservation of the body for a longer period required storage at minus 80 degrees Celsius, a facility not available at AIIMS Bhopal.

Twisha was found dead on the night of May 12 at her marital home in Bhopal’s Katara Hills area. Police registered an FIR, charging her husband, advocate Samarth Singh, and her mother-in-law, Giribala Singh, who is a retired judge, with dowry death and harassment.

Twisha's family, which hails from Noida, has sought a second postmortem examination at AIIMS Delhi, alleging dowry harassment and lapses in the local probe.

In a letter addressed to Twisha's father, Navnidhi Sharma, the Katara Hills police station in-charge said the body was currently being preserved at minus four degrees Celsius in the AIIMS Bhopal mortuary.

Citing a communication from AIIMS, the police said preservation of the body for a longer period required storage at minus 80 degrees Celsius, a facility not available at AIIMS Bhopal.

The letter stated that Twisha's family had requested the police commissioner to preserve the body and facilitate a second postmortem examination.

While the police had no objection to a second autopsy, there was a strong possibility of decomposition as the body had remained in the mortuary for several days, the police said, urging Navnidhi Sharma to take custody of the body at the earliest.

The development came as a Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) is set to examine the case diary on the plea filed by Twisha's family seeking a fresh postmortem examination.

The court on Tuesday summoned the police diary following a plea moved by her family seeking the preservation of her body and a second postmortem examination.

In their application, the family alleged lapses in the investigation and pointed out that the FIR was registered three days after Twisha was found dead.

Giribala Singh had denied the allegations of harassment.

The plea also alleged that the investigators did not provide the material allegedly used in the hanging during the first postmortem examination.

A Special Investigation Team is probing allegations of dowry harassment, physical assault and destruction of evidence in the case.