AIIMS report links gymnastics belt to Sharma neck injury

A crucial forensic report has been submitted to investigators examining the death of Twisha Sharma, a 33-year-old former model who was found dead at her marital residence in Bhopal on May 12. The final report from a medical board at AIIMS Delhi, submitted in a sealed cover on July 10, confirms that a gymnastics belt found at the scene corresponds with the ligature marks on her neck.

According to sources familiar with the findings, laboratory examinations detected the presence of skin tissue on the gymnastics belt, which had a metal ring attached, and established that it matched the injury pattern documented during a second postmortem examination. This resolves a key forensic question that arose during the initial investigation, as the belt was not available for examination during the first autopsy. That initial postmortem had concluded the cause of death was antemortem hanging by ligature but noted the presence of multiple antemortem injuries without identifying the specific object used.

The AIIMS Delhi medical board was constituted after the Madhya Pradesh High Court ordered a fresh postmortem. Twisha Sharma's family had petitioned the court, alleging lapses in the initial...