Koderma: Jharkhand Police have made little headway in the death case of journalist Nirupama Pathak even as 10 days have passed since she was found dead under mysterious circumstances in her home in Jhumri Tilayia.
Her boyfriend Priyabhanshu Ranjan's family has claimed that she was locked up in the bathroom of her home by her family members on the day she was found dead.
Priyabhanshu's father Ram Shankar Kanth claimed that she also sent an SMS to his son saying that her mother, father and brother have bolted her inside a bathroom at their house and added that Nirupama's family was trying to implicate his son to save themselves.
"My son is innocent. My son has been trapped into the whole matter. He is innocent. We were even ready for their marriage. It is a clear case of murder, where Nirupama's family is involved," said Priyabhanshu's father Ram Shankar Kanth in Darbhanga in Bihar.
Priyabhanshu may also be taken to Koderma for questioning. Already about six-seven of their common friends have been questioned by a team of Jharkhand and Delhi Police in New Delhi.
Moreover, with doubt being raised over the manner in which Nirupama's autopsy was carried out and her viscera not preserved, Jharkhand Police will now be questioning the three doctors who conducted her post mortem.
The doctors will be asked as to how they came to the conclusion that Nirupama had been smothered to death. The doctors have already told CNN-IBN that the allegations that they acted under pressure were baseless.
"If the police want to record the statement, they may come here and do so. The cause of death is already known that she died due to smothering. Then why should we preserve the viscera?" said Dr Ashish Kumar, who was one of the three members of the doctors team which was headed by Dr Shiv Kumar.
"We were not working under any pressure. We did not know about her pregnancy or her marital status," said Dr Shiv Kumar.
Meanwhile, Associate Professor of Forensic Medicine ate New Delhi's AIIMS Dr Sudhir Gupta has been unofficially contacted by the Jharkhand Police to give his opinion regarding the autopsy report of Nirupama and find out the cause of death.
"The findings of the current post mortem report of Nirupama suggest that the death was due to asphyxia. Looking at the information provided till now, I neither accept that it was a murder nor reject that it may be a suicide. It's an open case. If I am provided with the weapon which were the dupatta and the pillow in this case and look at other evidences like the alleged point of suspension, and after discussion with the doctors who conducted the autopsy and their recollection of the condition of the body, I may give a view. It requires a revised view. So a competent medical board of national repute may be constituted to give a consolidated, scientific and logical opinion for investigating and finding out the truth in this case," said Dr Sudhir Gupta.
The 22-year-old Nirupama, who was working for a business daily in Delhi, was found dead on April 29 in her parents' house in Jhumri Tilaya in Koderma district under mysterious circumstances.
At the behest of Nirupama's family, a case of rape and abetment to suicide has also been filed against Priyabhanshu. Her mother, Subha Pathak, had alleged that it was a case of suicide. However, the post-mortem report said Nirupama died due to smothering and that she was pregnant. A 10 to 12 week-old foetus was found during the autopsy.
Subha, who was arrested last week in connection with the case, was on Sunday released on parole for three days to attend the post-death rituals.
It has been claimed that Nirupama and her boyfriend Priyabhanshu Ranjan were planning to get married but her parents did not approve of the match because he belonged to a lower caste.
They were batchmates from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication in New Delhi and were all set to get married on March six at an Arya Samaj temple in Delhi.
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