E-Paper
No second autopsy: Setback for Bhopal woman's family as court rejects plea amid foul play claims
A local court in Madhya Pradesh, however, ordered the preservation of the woman's body.
A local court in Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday rejected a plea filed by the family of the Noida woman found dead at her marital home in Bhopal, requesting a second autopsy.
The court, however, ordered the preservation of the woman's body, as mentioned in an earlier HT report.
Judge Anudita Sharma directed Katara Hills police to preserve the body at a facility within the state that has a properly equipped mortuary, after police raised concerns over its condition and the risk of decomposition.
Town inspector Sunil Dubey referred to a letter from the Forensic Medicine department at All India Institute of Medical Sciences Bhopal, saying that the body had already started decomposing.
According to the letter, the body was being stored in a freezer at minus 4°C, but a minus 80°C freezer was needed to stop further decomposition. He said such a facility was not available at All India Institute of Medical Sciences Bhopal and urged the family to take custody of the body.
What victim's advocate said
During the hearing, the victim’s lawyer Anurag Shrivastava alleged that the family was informed about her death late and claimed that the police and administration were trying to destroy evidence.
“We highlighted discrepancies as CCTV footage showed date of May 10, but the woman died on May 12. The family alleged she may have faced brutality on May 10, and pointed to suspicious behavior by her in-laws,” said the advocate.
On the court’s order, Shrivastava said they will move the high court and requested the police to preserve the body.
Bhopal woman's death case
The 33-year-old woman from Noida was found dead at her marital home just five months after becoming part of a prominent legal family in Bhopal.
Her family later alleged that she had been subjected to mental harassment, abuse and pressure over dowry demands by her husband and in-laws.
The family later approached a local court in Bhopal seeking a fresh post-mortem examination. Their lawyer, Advocate Ankur Pandey, told news agency PTI that they had flagged concerns over flaws in the investigation and said the FIR had been registered three days after she was found dead.
On Wednesday, Bhopal Police asked the woman's family to take custody of her body, saying there were concerns that it could start decomposing because AIIMS Bhopal does not have ultra-low temperature storage facilities.
