Rohit Shekhar Tiwari likely smothered with pillow, wife questioned

NEW DELHI: Rohit Shekhar Tiwari likely died of "asphyxia" due to strangulation and smothering with a pillow, revealed an autopsy report. The son of late Congress leader ND Tiwari was brought dead at Max Hospital in Saket on Tuesday. 

After the postmortem report revealed 'unnatural death' on Friday, a murder case was registered various sections the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against unknown persons. The case has been transferred to the Crime Branch.

The Crime Branch is now questioning Tiwari's wife Apoorva. 

“There was tension between Rohit and his wife since the first day of marriage. It was a love marriage,” said Tiwari's mother, Ujjwala Tiwari. 

The autopsy was conducted by a medical board comprising five senior doctors of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). "The medical board unanimously concluded that the cause of death in this case is asphyxia as a result of strangulation and smothering. It is a sudden unnatural death, placed in the category of homicide," the head of the AIIMS' forensic department, Dr Sudhir Gupta, told PTI.

A team of forensic experts visited Tiwari's home and questioned his family members and domestic helps. Cops are also reviewing the footage from CCTV cameras installed in and around the house. 

Rohit was brought dead to Delhi's Max Hospital. No external injuries were observed on his body. His mother Ujjwala Sharma was also undergoing medical treatment at the same hospital when she received a call from home that his son was unwell and bleeding from his nose. 

"Max hospital received an emergency call from the residence of Rohit Shekhar Tiwari at 4:41 pm this (Tuesday) afternoon. An ambulance brought Tiwari to Max Hospital, Saket, where he was declared brought dead at the emergency department," the hospital had said in a statement.

Narayan Dutt Tiwari died at 93 last year.

Tiwari had joined the BJP ahead of the 2017 Uttarakhand assembly polls and had recently indicated he could join the Congress.