Rishikesh, May 29 (IANS) Family members of the alleged dowry death victim, Twisha Sharma, on Friday immersed her ashes in the Ganga river flowing through Rishikesh. They said that Twisha had a “deep connection” with the city in Uttarakhand, which is now her “resting place”.

The victim allegedly died by suicide on May 12, barely months after her marriage to Samarth Singh. Her last rites were performed on May 24, after a second post-mortem, which was conducted by a team from AIIMS Delhi, following an order by the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

Speaking to IANS, Twisha’s father, Navnidhi Sharma, said: “She had a very deep connection with Rishikesh. She had also attended yoga classes here and completed 300 hours of professional yoga training.”

“She loved sitting beside the Ganga river,” he remembered.

Navnidhi Sharma said that in order to respect his daughter’s desire, her ashes were immersed in the Ganga River here.

“All her cousins and friends have come for the ritual,” he added.

Her father accused Twisha’s in-laws, particularly her husband and mother-in-law, of “destroying” his life’s purest form of love.

“Today I want to say that this struggle is not over yet; it will continue till she gets justice. Now that the CBI is conducting the investigation, our hopes have increased a lot. Let us see what happens further,” he said.

Twisha’s brother, Major Harshit Sharma, echoed that Rishikesh was Twisha’s favourite place, which is now her “resting place”.

“There have been quite major developments in the case. As per the latest update, the CBI has taken over, and finally, things are in motion. So, we are looking forward to the righteous justice that we are fighting for,” he told IANS.

Referring to the CBI as a “prime institute for investigation”, he said: “We hope they get the correct arguments.”

Refuting that the death was caused by suicide, he asserted: “As far as I know my sister, she would never take a step like this. Secondly, looking at the evidence and the way efforts were made to tamper with those, it is very much evident.”

Cousin Naina Sharma also said, “Twisha loved Rishikesh very much.”

She stressed that the family will make every possible effort to ensure that the case is transferred to Delhi.

“The case against Twisha’s mother-in-law Giribala Singh and husband Samarth Singh should not remain confined only to paperwork — they should receive real punishment,” she told IANS.

“No other daughter should face anything of this sort,” the cousin added.

–IANS

cg/uk