Police to reopen probe into 1997 death of Congress leader in Bhopal

A Bhopal court has ordered a reinvestigation into Congress leader Sarla Mishra's 1997 death, citing an incomplete police closure report.

Published on: Apr 18, 2025, 07:56:01 IST

By Shruti Tomar, Bhopal

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A court in Bhopal district of Madhya Pradesh on Thursday ordered police to reopen the investigation into the 1997 death of a Congress leader, citing the incomplete closure report filed by police.

Police to reopen probe into 1997 death of Congress leader in Bhopal

Congress leader Sarla Mishra died in a fire at her home in Bhopal in February 1997. Following investigation, TT Nagar police station filed a closure report in the chief judicial magistrate (CJM) court on November 7, 2019, ruling the case as a suicide.

Sarla’s brother Anurag Mishra filed a petition challenging the closure report in the Jabalpur bench of the Madhya Pradesh high court in 2020. After hearing the case, the high court had ordered the Bhopal district court to hear the matter.

On Thursday, the district court ruled in favour of Anurag, saying the closure filed by the police was “incomplete”.

“The investigation done regarding the incident seems incomplete,” said judicial magistrate first class Palak Rai in her order. “The deceased’s statement was not taken before her death. The pieces of paper found in support of her death as suicide were also not independently investigated. No fingerprints were taken from the crime scene...The police should reinvestigate the matter.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shruti Tomar
I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.Read More

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