Court rejects 2nd autopsy plea, seeks report on Twisha Sharma's body preservation
A court has rejected a plea for a second postmortem in the Twisha Sharma death case, but concerns over preserving the body have triggered urgent directions to police and medical authorities.
Bhopal court has dismissed a plea seeking a second postmortem examination at AIIMS Delhi in the death case of Twisha Sharma, the daughter-in-law of a retired judge who was found hanging at her marital home in Bhopal earlier this month.
While rejecting the application dated May 19 seeking a fresh autopsy and forensic analysis, the court raised serious concerns over the preservation of the body, which has remained in the AIIMS Bhopal mortuary since May 13.
The court directed the Station House Officer of Katara Hills police station to immediately collect written information from medical institutions across Madhya Pradesh and other metropolitan cities in the state on whether low-temperature preservation facilities are available.
According to the police report submitted before the court, Twisha’s body is currently stored at minus 4 degrees Celsius at AIIMS Bhopal. Authorities at the hospital informed the court that long-term preservation would require storage at minus 80 degrees Celsius, a facility unavailable in Bhopal.
The court recorded that “directions for conducting a second post-mortem examination at AIIMS Delhi and forensic analysis of the deceased dated 19-05-26 is hereby dismissed.”
At the same time, the court said a report must be submitted without delay on whether any higher medical institution in Madhya Pradesh has the required preservation facility.
BODY KEPT IN MORTUARY SINCE MAY 13
Twisha Sharma was found hanging at her marital home in Bhopal’s Katara Hills area on the night of May 12.
Police later registered an FIR against her husband, advocate Samarth Singh, and her mother-in-law Giribala Singh, a retired judge, on charges of dowry death and harassment.
Twisha’s family, which lives in Noida, had sought a second postmortem examination at AIIMS Delhi, alleging dowry harassment and lapses in the investigation.
In their plea, the family claimed the FIR was filed three days after Twisha’s death and alleged that investigators failed to provide material allegedly used in the hanging during the first autopsy examination.
The family had also approached authorities seeking preservation of the body until a second postmortem could be conducted.
POLICE WARN OF DECOMPOSITION RISK
Earlier this week, Bhopal police urged Twisha’s family to take custody of the body, warning that decomposition was a growing concern.
In a letter addressed to Twisha’s father, Navnidhi Sharma, Katara Hills police said AIIMS Bhopal did not have the infrastructure needed for extended preservation.
The letter said, “The body is currently being preserved at minus four degrees Celsius in the AIIMS Bhopal mortuary,” adding that preservation for a longer duration would require storage at minus 80 degrees Celsius.
Police also said they had “no objection” to a second postmortem examination, but cautioned that the body had already remained in the mortuary for several days.
SIT PROBE UNDERWAY
A Special Investigation Team is currently probing allegations of dowry harassment, physical assault and destruction of evidence in the case.
Meanwhile, Giribala Singh has denied allegations of harassment levelled by Twisha’s family.
The case has drawn significant attention in Madhya Pradesh amid questions raised by the victim’s family over the handling of the investigation and the delay in filing the FIR.