The AIIMS Delhi medical board that conducted a court-ordered second post-mortem on Twisha Sharma, who was found hanging at her marital residence in Bhopal on May 12, has submitted its final forensic report to the CBI, confirming the presence of skin tissue on the alleged ligature material – a gymnastics belt – indicating that it matched the injury pattern on the victim's neck, sources said. The five-member board handed over its 11-page report to the CBI in a sealed cover on July 10 in compliance with the Madhya Pradesh High Court's direction, in which laboratory and histopathological examinations confirmed the presence of skin tissue on the gymnastics belt allegedly used for the hanging.
A compliance report has also been sent to the registrar general of the high court, the sources said. The forensic opinion has resolved a key dispute on whether the gymnastics belt with a metal ring allegedly used for hanging was the actual ligature, and whether it matched the injuries on Twisha’s neck. The first autopsy could not establish this because the alleged ligature material was not produced before the medical board, prompting the high court to order a second post-mortem by an AIIMS Delhi medical board.
According to sources familiar with the findings, laboratory and histopathological examinations detected skin tissue on the alleged ligature material, establishing that it corresponded with the ligature mark and injury pattern observed during the second post-mortem. The board's detailed opinion, however, remains confidential as it has been submitted to the CBI in a sealed cover in accordance with the court directions issued on May 22. The AIIMS board conducted the second post-mortem on May 24, and also visited the scene of the incident as part of its investigation.
Declining to disclose the findings of the report, Dr Sudhir Gupta, Head of Forensic Medicine at AIIMS Delhi, said the board undertook an exhaustive scientific evaluation before arriving at its conclusion. “The medical board deliberated very minutely on the case from all possible angles, took into consideration all available national and international journals for almost one month before giving a detailed opinion with scientific justification. It is a crystal-clear opinion for the CBI and for the judiciary in the interest of truth and justice,” Gupta said. He declined to elaborate further, saying the report had been submitted to the CBI in a sealed cover in compliance with the court's directions.
According to the forwarding letter, the sealed report was handed over to the CBI investigating officer, while the videography of the second postmortem remained in the custody of the investigating agency. Twisha, the daughter-in-law of retired judge Giribala Singh, was found hanging at her matrimonial home in Bhopal on May 12. Alleging lapses in the initial investigation and post-mortem, her family approached the Madhya Pradesh High Court, which ordered a second autopsy by AIIMS Delhi, and subsequently transferred the investigation to the CBI. The AIIMS forensic report is expected to form a crucial piece of scientific evidence in the CBI's probe.