Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): After the Madhya Pradesh High Court ordered a second postmortem in the Twisha Sharma Death Case, her family has requested the court to allow a major forensic expert to conduct the procedure.
Twisha Sharma’s father, Nav Nidhi Sharma, has requested the court that the second postmortem should be carried out under the leadership of Dr. Dinesh Rao, who is currently serving as Professor and Head of the Forensic Medicine Department.
In the petition filed before the Jabalpur bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, the family said they have complete faith in Dr. Rao’s expertise, fairness and experience in handling complicated forensic cases. The petition requested that the second postmortem be conducted under his supervision at either AIIMS-Delhi, AIIMS-Jammu or AIIMS-Bhopal.
The family also demanded that Twisha Sharma’s body should be preserved at minus 80 degrees Celsius and that her final rites should not be performed before the second postmortem examination.
2nd postmortem to strengthen public trust: Justice Avanindra Singh
The High Court, while ordering the second postmortem, said that since the death happened within six months of marriage, every aspect of the case must be investigated in a fair and transparent manner so that no doubts remain in the minds of the public. Justice Avanindra Kumar Singh clarified that ordering a second postmortem does not mean there are questions over the first postmortem report or the doctors who conducted it. The purpose, the court said, is only to strengthen public trust in the investigation process.
During the hearing, senior advocate Jaideep Kaurav, appearing for accused husband Samarth Singh, said they had no objection to the second postmortem. However, he stated that the reputation and credibility of doctors at AIIMS Bhopal should not be questioned.
Entire postmortem procedure to be videographed
Appearing through video conferencing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court that the second postmortem is not being conducted to point fingers at anyone, but to ensure transparency and maintain people’s confidence in the investigation. He also made it clear that there is no doubt regarding the capability of the doctors who conducted the first postmortem.
The court directed the Director of AIIMS New Delhi to immediately form a team of expert doctors. The team will visit Bhopal and conduct the second postmortem. The High Court also ordered that the entire procedure should be videographed and that the recording should become part of the official postmortem report. The expert report will later be submitted to the investigating agency in a sealed envelope. The court further directed that the body of the deceased should be treated with full dignity and according to all legal procedures.
Dr. Dinesh Rao conducted 12k+ postmortems
Dr. Dinesh Rao is considered one of the country’s most respected forensic medicine experts. He has worked not only in India but also in countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Italy and Germany. He has also served as the Chief Forensic Pathologist in the Caribbean nation of Jamaica, a highly responsible constitutional position in the field of forensic science.
Over his long career, Dr. Rao has reportedly conducted more than 12,000 postmortems and has handled several high-profile and highly complicated criminal cases. In many investigations, his forensic reports have played a key role in changing the direction of probes and helping victims receive justice. Apart from investigations, he has also contributed significantly to forensic research and reportedly developed a special preservation technique similar to “mummification” for preserving bodies for long periods.
Husband Samarth Singh in police custody
The case is registered at Katara Hills Police Station. Meanwhile, accused husband Samarth Singh, who had reached Jabalpur district court to surrender, was taken into custody by the Bhopal SIT team with the help of Omti police and brought to Bhopal late at night.
