Why parts of Haryana are on the boil after a 19-year-old woman's death, kin reject police probe findings
Tension rises in Haryana's Bhiwani and Charkhi Dadri over a 19-year-old girl's death, prompting mobile internet suspensions.
Two Haryana districts – Bhiwani and Charkhi Dadri – are on the boil over the death of a 19-year-old girl, with authorities suspending mobile internet services, bulk SMS and dongle services in view of the tension and public outrage as the family has rejected the probe that says she died by suicide.
A Haryana home department order said the precautionary measures was being taken to stop the spread of misinformation on social media platforms and to check the mobilisation of demonstrators who could cause loss of life and damage to property by indulging in violence.
What is the case
A playschool teacher was found dead in a field near a canal at Singhani village of Bhiwani district on August 13. The girl had reportedly been missing since August 11, after leaving school, purportedly to inquire about admission at a nursing college.
Purported images surfaced on social media, claimed to be the victim's, showed a body lying on a field.
On Monday evening, after the police made the findings and ruled out foul play based on the autopsy report, the Bhiwani district administration representatives held talks with a committee formed by villagers to hold discussions on behalf of the victim’s family, following which they agreed to cremate the woman’s body on Tuesday.
A suicide note emerged on Monday, changing the course of the case, however, police said the note was found on the same day the body was discovered and the woman’s family knew about it all along.
{{/usCountry}}A suicide note emerged on Monday, changing the course of the case, however, police said the note was found on the same day the body was discovered and the woman’s family knew about it all along.
{{/usCountry}}According to the police, the victim wrote in the suicide note about her parents being upset with her.
{{/usCountry}}According to the police, the victim wrote in the suicide note about her parents being upset with her.
{{/usCountry}}The woman’s father later took a U-turn, accusing the committee of mounting pressure on him to conduct the last rites of his daughter.
{{/usCountry}}The woman’s father later took a U-turn, accusing the committee of mounting pressure on him to conduct the last rites of his daughter.
{{/usCountry}}“We are not happy with the autopsy report and police findings. I urge people to join the fight for justice for my daughter,” an earlier HT report quoted him as saying.
{{/usCountry}}“We are not happy with the autopsy report and police findings. I urge people to join the fight for justice for my daughter,” an earlier HT report quoted him as saying.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier, the woman’s family accused the police of delaying the registration of a complaint in the matter.
The woman’s father alleged that the Loharu police had initially refused to lodge a missing report on August 11, suggesting that his daughter might have run away or gone on a trip and would return in a few days. It was only the following day that the complaint was registered.
A large number of people later gathered at Dhani Laxman village of Bhiwani and attended a panchayat where they announced they would fight to ensure justice to the woman's family.
Villagers in Charkhi Dadri district expressed solidarity with the woman’s family and planned to hold a dharna.
People from nearby villages were stopped from reaching Dhani Laxman village as police were deployed on connecting roads. Additional police force were sent from Panipat district.
'Mummy, papa you did a lot for me…' What suicide note said
Bhiwani superintendent of police Sumit Kumar said the suicide note was found near the body in a bag, which also had her Aadhaar and other documents.
“The handwriting matches (with that of the woman),” the SP said over the phone.
According to the police, the victim wrote in the suicide note, “Mummy, papa you did a lot for me, but you were upset with me. I was not wrong. Also I did nothing wrong. I want to fulfil my parents’ dream. I wanted to be a nursing officer. I don’t want to be a financial burden. I am sorry if I have hurt you.”
The SP said there it was found in video surveillance that she bought insecticide. "There is a record in the register of the seller that the woman had taken this quantity of insecticide and paid a particular amount for the same to the seller,” the officer said. “The next part of the investigation was whether the insecticide was consumed or not. We sent the viscera report to the forensic sciences laboratory along with other samples. There were numerous samples given by the coroner to us,” the SP said, adding “In the viscera sample, the presence of insecticide has been confirmed in the body.”
“So, there is self-purchase, there is a suicide note, there is poison in the body,” he said.
Two autopsies – one of them conducted at Rohtak's Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS) – helped clarify the cause of the injuries on the victim’s face, initially mistaken for a throat slit, police said. The PGIMS report confirmed there was no sexual assault and no incision or cut on the throat.
“In the first post-mortem report, the doctor mentioned that these wounds are lacerated wounds with a gnawing effect. Gnawing is when any scavenger eats the body. The doctor has very clearly mentioned that these are the scavenging animal bites, and he has used the word gnawing effect. A portion of the neck was missing. Eyes were not there, face skin was not there. However, no vital organ below the neck is missing,” the earlier HT report quoted the SP.
Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini on Friday ordered the transfer of the then SP and suspension of five police officials from the district in connection with the death. Sumit Kumar assumed the charge of SP two days ago.
A murder case was registered by the police on the complaint of the woman’s family.
