A 36-year-old lecturer, Neha Bhagaria, died during treatment at a private hospital in Jalandhar after she was admitted in critical condition and the case has taken a serious turn following a statement recorded by a magistrate at the hospital and the registration of a case against her husband, mother-in-law and another woman.
The FIR provides details of what happened after police received information about Neha's condition and reached Fortis Hospital on August 21 and it also records that doctors found Neha unable to speak because she was intubated and on mechanical ventilation.
According to the FIR, Neha was the wife of Umang Bassi and a resident of Kartarpur. Her family has alleged that she was forced to consume toilet cleaner and currently, the allegations are being investigated by police.
According to the FIR, police were informed that Neha had been admitted to Fortis Hospital on Pathankot Road, Jalandhar, in a critical condition and an ASI, accompanied by Constable Kunal Yadav, reached the hospital to record her statement. Neha was admitted in the emergency ICU.
The police officer first approached the doctor and submitted a written request seeking an opinion on whether Neha was medically fit to give a statement.
The doctor informed the police that Neha was not fit to give a conventional statement and the FIR states that she was intubated, on a mechanical ventilator and unable to speak and because of her critical condition, police sought the intervention of senior officers so that her statement could still be recorded.
The FIR states that JMIC Jalandhar Namita Sharma reached Fortis Hospital to record Neha's statement. Since Neha could not speak, she gave her statement in writing, according to the FIR. The police officer later copied the statement and included its contents in the case proceedings, the FIR says the written statement indicated that a case should be registered against Umang Bassi and his mother.
The police subsequently registered the case and began the investigation.
The FIR contains a brief statement attributed to Neha in which she alleged that her husband and mother-in-law had given her Harpic and the statement also referred to an alleged extra-marital relationship involving her husband.
It named another woman and alleged that Umang wanted to marry her.
The FIR further records an allegation that Neha had been forced to leave her home and these are allegations recorded in the FIR and statement. The FIR does not, by itself, establish that the allegations are true and their veracity will have to be determined through the police investigation and subsequent judicial proceedings.
Neha's family has identified the woman named in the case as Satpal Kaur and alleged that she was involved in the incident and according to the family's version, Neha had previously become aware of communication between Umang and Satpal Kaur and had confronted her husband over the alleged relationship.
The family has further alleged that Umang wanted to marry Satpal Kaur.
The FIR and subsequent police proceedings will now form part of the investigation into whether the alleged relationship had any connection with the circumstances leading to Neha's death.
One of the key details in the FIR is Neha's medical condition when police reached the hospital.
The doctor recorded that she was intubated and on mechanical ventilation. Because of this, she could not speak and this is why the police sought the involvement of the magistrate to record her statement.
The statement was therefore recorded in writing rather than through a conventional verbal statement and now this written statement has become an important part of the case as police investigate the circumstances in which Neha suffered the alleged poisoning or forced consumption of toilet cleaner.
The FIR states that the police officer took action based on the statement and registered a case under the relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
A copy of the FIR and the original text were sent to the investigating officer through Constable Kunal Yadav and the FIR also records that the police station's chief officer and control room were informed. Special reports were sent to senior police officers and the area magistrate.
These are standard procedural steps following registration of a serious criminal case.
Neha's condition remained critical despite treatment and according to the family's account and the information provided in the case, she later died during treatment at the hospital.
Following her death, the case became more serious, with police adding the murder provision under Section 103 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Police also added Section 61(2) of the BNS, which relates to criminal conspiracy.
The addition of these sections means that the investigation is now focused not only on the alleged administration of toilet cleaner but also on whether there was a deliberate plan behind the act and whether the accused were responsible for Neha's death.
The case involves allegations against Neha's husband Umang Bassi, her mother-in-law Kusum Bassi and Satpal Kaur, who has been identified by the family as the woman allegedly involved with Umang.
The family has alleged that the three were involved in forcing Neha to consume toilet cleaner.
These allegations remain allegations at this stage and the accused are entitled to due process, and their guilt or innocence will ultimately be determined through the investigation and court proceedings.
The FIR gives the police an account of what Neha allegedly told the magistrate while she was in critical condition.
Investigators will now have to establish what exactly happened before Neha was admitted to hospital and this is expected to involve examination of medical records, doctors and hospital staff, statements of family members and other witnesses, forensic evidence and any material available from the place where the alleged incident occurred.
Police will also have to establish how the substance allegedly entered Neha's body, who was present at the time and what happened immediately before and after the incident.
The circumstances surrounding her hospitalisation will also be examined.
