Cops find discrepancies in some statements by family members

NEW DELHI: Rohit Shekhar Tiwari , the 39-year-old son of Narayan Dutt Tiwari, former chief minister of UP and Uttarakhand and Andhra ex-governor, died of asphyxia last Tuesday after being strangulated and smothered, according to an initial autopsy report released on Friday.Rohit was declared "brought dead" after being rushed to a south Delhi hospital Tuesday evening. Delhi Police registered a case of murder and transferred it to its crime branch for investigation.A medical board of five doctors conducted Rohit's post-mortem examination. The doctors found some marks around his neck and said the asphyxiation could have been caused by one or more pillows, Dr Sudhir Gupta, professor and head of forensic sciences at AIIMS, said.Police have found some pillows in Rohit's Defence Colony house, one of which had bloodstains on it, an officer said. However, a clearer picture will emerge once the full autopsy report is prepared and handed over to police by next week, another officer said.The crime branch initiated the process of questioning Rohit's family members. A forensic team and cops visited his home in Defence Colony's C block.Rohit had returned around 11.30pm on Monday after casting his vote. His death came to fore around 4.41pm when the Max Hospital in Saket received an emergency call from Rohit's residence. His mother, Ujjwala Tiwari, was already in hospital for her treatment."She received a call from home that Rohit was bleeding from nose and went home with an ambulance. Rohit was declared 'brought dead' at hospital around 5pm," an official said.At the time of the incident, Rohit's brother Siddharth, wife Apoorva and other personal assistants were present in the house. During the inquiry, cops found some discrepancies in the statements of the family members which are being analysed. Doctor suspects the timing of death to be around 1-1.30am. A rigor mortis had set in when he was taken to the Max Hospital.Household helps told the cops that after returning from Kotdwar, Rohit had refused to have dinner and went to his bedroom to sleep. He had slept till 4pm the next day, during which neither his wife, mother nor brother tried to wake him up. They would be quizzed regarding this as well.The murder was discovered by his Rohit's wife who told the cops that she had found his body to have turned cold and alerted the other members of the family. Police sources say that when the household helps reached, they found Rohit lying face up with his hands by his side and a blanket. The air conditioner in his room was also turned on. He was in his nightwear when the body was recovered.Cops have also found a few strips of tablets that Rohit had allegedly consumed before going to bed.The household helps and attendants of the ambulance who had gone inside his room to recover the body would be quizzed to reconstruct the scene of crime. One of the household helps have told the cops that when Rohit entered the house on Monday night, he seemed to be drooling and had climbed the stairs by supporting himself on the wall.Cops have found seven CCTV cameras in the Defence Colony house out of which five were found to be operational while two were not working. The footages from the cameras have been sent for a forensic examination.