Bhopal, May 24: The last rites of former actor-model Twisha Sharma, who was allegedly harassed for dowry, were conducted on Sunday evening in Bhopal with her brother, Major Harshit Sharma, lighting the funeral pyre, marking the end of a 12-day ordeal for the family, though their quest for justice continues.
The cremation at Bhadbhada Vishram Ghat followed a gruelling, high-profile legal battle that began on May 12, when the 33-year-old former Miss Pune was found dead at her matrimonial home in Bhopal’s Katara Hills, and the second postmortem was conducted by a team of AIIMS Delhi earlier in the day.
As the flames of the pyre rose, the immense emotional toll of the past two weeks finally broke through, and many family members collapsed, weeping inconsolably after days of putting on a brave face to fight for a second postmortem.
The delayed farewell was made possible only after a specialised medical team from AIIMS Delhi conducted a meticulous, second post-mortem at AIIMS Bhopal for nearly four hours, and the procedure focused mainly on preserving evidence and investigating physical injuries that the family alleges were overlooked in the initial local probe.
Chief of Forensic Medicine at AIIMS, Delhi, Dr Sudhir Gupta, meanwhile, said the compilation of the report will take some time as certain laboratory tests, including histopathology and viscera examination, are required.
The team also visited Twisha’s residence and the incident spot to carry out assessments related to the case.
The second autopsy was ordered by the Madhya Pradesh High Court following serious concerns raised by Twisha’s parents regarding procedural lapses by local authorities.
Twisha’s father, Navnidhi Sharma, struggled for words as he paid tribute to his daughter and also reposed faith in the Supreme Court, which has taken suo motu cognisance of the case.
In a press statement released just hours before the cremation, the Noida-based Sharma family detailed the agony of their long wait, noting that the delay forced them to violate deeply held Hindu traditions, which ordinarily dictate that post-death rituals be completed within a 13-day mourning period.
Retired Major General Shyam Shrivastava, founder of the Vardi Foundation, said that they will ensure that Twisha’s family get justice.
The former Army officer had led a two-wheeler rally seeking justice for Twisha in Bhopal and met the Director General of Police and Chief Minister Mohan Yadav.
Former IAS Officer Ajeeta Vajpayee Pandey and leaders from the BJP, Congress, and Samajwadi Party paid their last respects to Twisha.
Twisha (33) was found hanging at her matrimonial home here on May 12, with her family accusing her in-laws of dowry harassment and abetment to suicide. Her in-laws, however, claimed she suffered from drug addiction.
The case has snowballed into a massive national controversy, given the background of the accused.
Twisha’s husband, Samarth Singh, is a lawyer, and her mother-in-law, Giribala Singh, is a retired district judge. Following severe public outcry and a protest by Twisha’s family outside Chief Minister Mohan Yadav’s residence, the legal machinery shifted into high gear over the weekend. (PTI)
