Bhiwani teacher murder case: Kin demand ‘fresh postmortem report’; failure of law & order, says Former CM

Manisha, a resident of Dhani Laxman village in Loharu, had gone missing on August 11 and her body was found on August 13.

On Saturday, Manisha’s father Sanjay told the media: “The police personnel told me that if my daughter has gone missing, she must have eloped and she will come back in two days.”

Manisha’s uncle Kuldeep also spoke to the media: “Protests will continue until all our demands, including the arrest of all the accused, are met.” He also demanded a different board of doctors to conduct a fresh and thorough postmortem, alleging that: “There were multiple lapses in the postmortem examination.”

The family alleges that the post-mortem report doesn’t “conclusively” indicate the murder.

In response to the ongoing protest, the Haryana government, on Friday, transferred Bhiwani SP Manbir Singh and suspended Loharu police station in-charge Ashok, Assistant Sub-Inspector Shakuntala, Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) team ASI Anoop, constable Pawan, and Special Police Officer (SPO) Dharmendra. The government posted Sumit Kumar as Bhiwani SP, who will supervise the investigation now.

Reacting to the incident, former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said on Saturday: “All the accused should be arrested at the earliest and justice must be ensured for the victim’s family. We demand the strictest possible punishment for the culprits so that no criminal dares to even think of committing such an act in the future.”

In Bahadurgarh, Hooda told the media: “Law and order has completely collapsed across Haryana. Traders are receiving threats on a daily basis. Businessmen, employees, politicians, common people, and even the police no longer feel safe. It seems like there is no government in the state, and criminals have taken control of the entire system… This crime has exposed not just the brutality of the culprits, but also the failure of the law and order system… If the police had acted in time, her life could have been saved.”

According to Manisha’s family, on August 11, she left home to go to a nursing college in Singhani to enquire about her admission. As she failed to return by evening, her father informed the police via Dial-112 (Haryana police emergency response support system).

According to Manisha’s family, police accompanied them to the college to inquire, where they questioned three drunk men. The men denied seeing Manisha and said the college had closed at 1 pm.

On August 13, a farmer found a young woman’s body in a field near a canal in Singhani. Police, who reached the spot after being informed, identified the deceased as Manisha.

Police said that, “Special Investigation teams have been constituted to identify and nab the accused. We are in constant touch with the victim’s family members.”