About two months after the wife of a local businessman allegedly committed suicide in Dehradun, her family members have reiterated their allegation that she was murdered by her husband whom the police are trying to shield by not investigating the case properly. The family members who have also communicated their complaint to the Chief Minister are demanding an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the case.
Addressing the media at the Press Club here on Friday, the parents of the late Anchal Pandhi -- Anil Kohli and Anjum Kohli along with her brother Agrim Kohli presented various aspects of the case which they point out as clear indicators of foul play in the manner in which the case has been handled by the authorities. “We had presented a first information report regarding Anchal’s murder at the Rajpur police station on February 14 against her husband Rahul Pandhi, based on which the police booked a case under section 302 of IPC against him and others. She purportedly committed suicide by hanging herself but the ligature mark found on her neck is inconsistent with the noose material. Further, on the night she was found dead, after discovering her body, her husband was recorded in the CCTV camera sauntering out of the apartment complex by jumping over the boundary wall at the backside. looking at the photo of the scene shown by the police, one can see signs which point at what might be an attempt by Anchal to defend herself from Rahul. Her body hanging from a noose was found in a standing position with the feet on the floor and the suspicious marks on her arms have been ignored by the police. Photographs also show blood spots on the floor inconsistent with a hanging and there also appear to be signs of attempt being made to wipe the spots. The knot of the noose by which she was found hanging was opened by Rahul and that too in the presence of police whereas in such cases the knot is not untied but the noose is cut and sealed by the police for investigation. He has influenced the authorities who are trying to present a murder case as a case of suicide,”alleged Anil Kohli.
Anjum Kohli said that they had been informed about Anchal purportedly hanging herself more than six hours after her body was reportedly discovered.
The contents of her room were scattered and the way Rahul was recorded on CCTV camera sauntering with his hands in his pocket and then jumping over the boundary wall at the backside is not consistent with the actions of a man who had found his wife dead a few hours ago, she opined.
She further alleged that Anchal’s husband had a violent history and was using the influence he wielded –being the member of a family bringing out a newspaper – to suppress fair investigation in the case.
Questioning the method of investigation and the time being taken, the family members alleged that the accused had influenced the authorities.
They demanded that the case be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation for free and fair investigation to establish the truth of the matter.