Malad suicide case: Police register murder case after Arpita Tiwari’s father cries foul play

Mumbai: The Malwani police on Wednesday registered a murder case against an “unknown person” after father of 24-year-old compere Arpita Tiwari, whose body was recovered from the duct of second floor of a high rise in Malad west, complained of foul play in the matter.

Confirming the development, a senior police officer said, “Arpita’s father reached Malwani police station and told investigators that he is unable to digest the theory of accidental fall or suicide angle. We have registered a murder case against unknown person and probing the matter.”

The crime branch has also been conducting a parallel investigation in the mysterious death of Tiwari. Earlier, Arpita’s sister had demanded a CBI probe into the matter. On Wednesday, her elder sister Shweta Tiwari told the Free Press Journal, “It’s a clear cut case of murder as no woman will commit suicide while she is semi-clad. We want a thorough probe into the matter. The case should be transferred to Crime Branch or Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as the Malwani police is trying to paint the murder case as ‘suicide’.”

Also Read: Mumbai: Woman’s body found in pool of blood in Malad high-rise, suicide suspected

She also denied media reports in which police have been quoted as saying that the ‘family does not suspect a murder angle’. The Malwani police had earlier registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) and have recorded the statements of all the members present in the flat. Zonal Deputy Commissioner of Police Vikram Deshmane said, “We are probing the matter from all possible angles. We have not come to any final conclusion yet the investigations are still underway.”

Tiwari and her male friend together visited the house of a common friend who lives on the 15th floor of Manavsthal building in Malwani on Sunday night. And next morning her body was recovered from the duct of second floor of the high rise.

Tiwari’s close friend Lucky told the Free Press Journal that she had broken the relationship with her male friend last month. “Her (Arpita Tiwari’s) male friend is good for nothing and he was pressuring her to get married as she was doing exceedingly well in her career. On Sunday evening she went to the house of a common friend with him. There were four male members and she was the only female in the flat. It is not the handiwork of one person. Her body was semi clad,” said Lucky.

There were multiple external injuries on her body, according to post-mortem report. The police have sent her viscera sample to Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), Kalina for chemical analysis. Tiwari who is from Jamshedpur had been living with her parents in Mira Road.