Bhiwani teacher death case: Haryana govt to hand over probe to CBI

Chandigarh: The Haryana government is going to hand over the probe into the death of a 19-year-old teacher in Bhiwani last week to the CBI following public outrage and her last rites will be held on Thursday after a third autopsy was conducted at AIIMS, Delhi.

Earlier, there had been calls in the woman's village for an indefinite protest if the probe is not handed over to the premier investigating agency.

The death caused massive outrage, with people earlier blocking roads in the district, and the opposition parties, including the Congress, demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe. Heavy police had been deployed around the village.

Manisha's body was found in a field in Bhiwani on August 13. She had gone missing on August 11 after leaving the school, purportedly to enquire about admission at a nursing college.

Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Wednesday said, "The state government and the police administration are working with full seriousness and transparency to ensure justice for our daughter Manisha from Bhiwani and her family," and added that he has been continuously seeking updates about the case.

"Based on the family's demand, the Haryana government is going to hand over this case to the CBI for an impartial investigation. Full justice will be ensured in this matter," Saini posted on X in Hindi on Wednesday.

A senior police officer said that the district authorities sent Manisha's body to AIIMS, New Delhi, where a third autopsy was conducted.

Earlier, the post-mortem examinations had been conducted at the Bhiwani Civil Hospital and the PGIMS hospital in Rohtak.

The residents, who had been sitting on a protest in the woman's native village Dhani Laxman in Bhiwani, had formed a committee to spearhead their dharna. They had urged the government for a probe by the CBI and an autopsy of the deceased at AIIMS, Delhi.

On Tuesday, the residents said their protest would continue indefinitely till their demands were met. After the demand was accepted, the dharna was lifted and the last rites of the deceased would be held in Bhiwani on Thursday.

Speaking to reporters in Bhiwani on Wednesday, BKU (Charuni) chief Gurnam Singh Charuni said the post-mortem was conducted at AIIMS, Delhi and the government also agreed to another demand by deciding to hand over the probe to the CBI.

"The family has expressed satisfaction and now Manisha's last rites will be held on Thursday," Charuni said.

On Wednesday, Haryana State Commission for Women chairperson Renu Bhatia also reached Bhiwani.

She said after Manisha's body was found, she had been taking regular updates from the police concerning the case.

Bhatia said that she assured the family that the Women's Commission stands with the family in this case and it will be investigated from every aspect.

Earlier, the Haryana government had ordered the suspension of mobile internet, bulk SMS and dongle services in Bhiwani and Charkhi Dadri districts for 48 hours from 11 am on Tuesday amid public outrage over the death of the teacher.

On Monday, police claimed that the investigations pointed to the teenager dying by suicide by ingesting poison.

However, her father, Sanjay, on Tuesday rejected the finding and refused to cremate the body, demanding "justice". "The administration is saying that my daughter committed suicide, but I can say that she can never commit suicide. I want justice," he said.

While protests over the teacher's death raged on and politicians waded into the matter, alleging breakdown of law and order, the emergence of a "suicide note" in the death case on Monday turned the investigation on its head.

Bhiwani Superintendent of Police Sumit Kumar had earlier said the purported note was found near Manisha's body in a bag, which also had her Aadhaar card and other documents. He also said that there was proof of Manisha buying insecticide.

"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 had said.

Police also said that the two post-mortem reports, which were conducted in Bhiwani and Rohtak, had ruled out the possibility of any sexual assault.

However, the villagers had questioned the latest findings and continued to block a key road in Bhiwani in protest. They had said Manisha's cremation would not take place till "justice" was done.

The opposition parties flayed the BJP-led state government, claiming that the alleged murder was proof of a "breakdown of law and order" under the saffron party.

Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda said the role of the state government and the police had been "negligent and irresponsible", and an "unfortunate attempt is being made to prove the whole case as a suicide".