A gymnastics belt that was allegedly not produced during actress-model Twisha Sharma's first post-mortem has now emerged as one of the most critical pieces of evidence in the investigation into her death.
In a significant development, an AIIMS New Delhi medical board has submitted an 11-page forensic report to the Central Bureau of Investigation in a sealed cover. Dr Sudhir Gupta, head of the Department of Forensic Medicine at AIIMS Delhi, confirmed to NDTV that the report had been submitted. Its contents remain confidential under court directions.
However, according to sources familiar with the findings, laboratory and histopathological examinations detected skin tissue on the alleged ligature material of a gymnastics belt fitted with a metal ring. The sources said the findings indicate that the material could correspond with the injury pattern observed on Twisha's neck.
The forensic conclusion does not, by itself, establish whether Twisha died by suicide, was forced into the act or was killed. But it may answer one of the central questions that has haunted the investigation from the beginning: Was the gymnastics belt actually used as the ligature?
The AIIMS report could now help the CBI reconstruct the final moments before Twisha was found hanging at her matrimonial home in Bhopal on May 12.
The gymnastics belt has been at the heart of the controversy surrounding the initial investigation. Twisha's family had repeatedly questioned why the belt allegedly used for hanging was not presented to doctors during the first post-mortem examination.
Without the suspected ligature material, the doctors could not immediately compare its dimensions, texture and metal ring with the marks and injuries found on her neck.
Bhopal Police had acknowledged that the belt was seized by the forensic team but could not be delivered to the hospital in time. The then police commissioner said the lapse could be examined separately, while maintaining that the material was subsequently sent for correlation and that the delay did not ultimately affect the investigation.
The family disagreed.
The lawyers argued that the absence of the belt during the crucial first examination compromised the opportunity to scientifically assess whether the injuries could have been caused by that particular object.
Now, the findings from the AIIMS examination appear to establish a physical link between the belt and Twisha's injuries. Whether that link supports the original suicide theory or leads investigators in a different direction will depend on the complete medical opinion and the CBI's reconstruction of the crime scene.
Twisha Sharma was found dead at her matrimonial home on May 12, within six months of her marriage to advocate Samarth Singh.
The initial police investigation proceeded on the basis that she had died by hanging. But her family alleged that she had been subjected to cruelty and dowry-related harassment and raised serious questions about the circumstances in which her body was found.
An FIR was registered against her husband Samarth Singh and his mother, retired principal district and sessions judge Giribala Singh. The case was later transferred to the CBI, which re-registered the FIR and took over the investigation following Supreme Court proceedings.
Samarth, who had initially been evading arrest, later surrendered before a court. Both he and Giribala Singh were subsequently taken into custody and later remanded to judicial custody.
