The last rites of 19-year-old teacher Manisha, whose death will now be probed by the CBI, were performed in Bhiwani on Thursday, drawing large crowds to her native village Dhani Laxman. Her father Sanjay was inconsolable as the funeral pyre was lit, following days of protests and public outrage.
Manisha had gone missing on August 11 after leaving school to inquire about admission at a nursing college. Her body was discovered in a field on August 13. A third autopsy was conducted at AIIMS, Delhi on Wednesday after her family demanded a CBI probe and a fresh post-mortem, rejecting earlier findings at Bhiwani Civil Hospital and PGIMS Rohtak.
In the wake of her death and the massive protests that followed, the Haryana government on Thursday extended the suspension of mobile internet, bulk SMS (excluding banking and recharge), and dongle services in Bhiwani district for another 24 hours, effective from 11 am. The suspension was earlier enforced in Bhiwani and Charkhi Dadri districts for 48 hours starting Tuesday.
According to the official order, the extension was necessary to prevent any disturbance to peace and public order. Protests had seen residents block roads and stage sit-ins, demanding justice and accusing authorities of mishandling the case.
While police initially claimed the teenager had died by suicide after ingesting poison and cited the emergence of a suicide note, her father dismissed the claim outright, insisting she could never take her own life. Political leaders, including Congress veteran Bhupinder Singh Hooda, accused the BJP-led state government of negligence and alleged attempts to pass off the case as suicide.
The protests were called off late Wednesday after the government accepted the demand for a CBI probe and a post-mortem at AIIMS.
