Nirupama was murdered, says post mortem report

The post-mortem report and initial investigation of the murder of Delhi-based journalist Nirupama Pathak indicates murder, said Jharkhand Director General of Police Neyaz Ahmed on Thursday.

"The post-mortem report indicates murder and we are investigating on the same lines. We won't work under anyone's influence. We have kept all our options open and we will probe whatever point comes forward. We will handle the case justly," said Ahmed.

The state police submitted their report of the investigation to Ahmed on Wednesday.

"The progress in the case so far is that the superintendent of police has submitted the report of the investigation. On Wednesday, I called on the SP, the deputy inspector general, the inspector general of the crime investigation department and others," said Ahmed.

"We deliberated on every aspect of the case and went through all the angles of the case investigation," he added.

But Ahmed did not disclose any details of the report.

Nirupama, 23, was found dead at her home in Koderma district, Jharkhand in mysterious circumstances on April 29.

Her mother Sudha Pathak has been arrested in this connection, while the police have also filed a case of rape and abetment to suicide against her boyfriend Priyabhanshu Ranjan.

On May 9, Ranjan's parents claimed to have proof, which could nail the complicity of Nirupama' parents in the murder.

In a startling claim, Ranjan's father said he had Nirupama's last SMS, in which she said that she had been locked inside a bathroom and was not being allowed to go out.

The revelation came after the Koderma police served notices to three doctors who had performed a post mortem on Nirupama.

The court directed the police to file a first information report against Ranjan, following charges leveled by Nirupama's arrested mother Sudha Pathak.

Nirupama's mother has described her daughter's death as a case of suicide.

However, the post-mortem report revealed that Pathak died due to asphyxia as a result of smothering and that she was 10-12 weeks pregnant.