A high-profile murder case involving the death of a government officer was reported from Madhya Pradesh’s Dindori district, in which a sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) was allegedly killed by her husband. In what was initially believed to be a case of death during treatment in the hospital, the post-mortem report revealed that Nisha Napit Sharma, the government officer, was brought to the hospital by Manish Sharma, the husband, four to five hours after her death.
This prompted the police, which had earlier treated the case as a natural death, to form a special team to investigate the government officer’s house, where they found a bedsheet, pillow and Nisha’s clothes stuffed inside a washing machine. The police said Manish was trying to wash the clothes in an attempt to hide the evidence.
Manish initially told the police that Nisha was fasting on Sunday, the day of her alleged murder, and that she fell ill after consuming a fruit. He also added that he took Nisha to the hospital after she was bleeding through her nose, following which she died of cardiac arrest.
After seeing the SDM’s body turning blue, the police suspected it was a murder case. “After our suspicion, the doctor told us that SDM was brought to the hospital four to five hours after her death. Police immediately sealed the house and FSL (forensic science laboratory) team collected the evidence. Manish Sharma had cleaned the clothes and pillow covers after the death of the SDM,” Akhil Patel, superintendent of police (SP), said.
The police arrested Manish on charges of murdering his wife following a complaint by the SDM’s sister. He had reportedly confessed to having suffocated his wife to death using a pillow.
(With inputs from Shruti Tomar )
