Father, seeking 2nd post-mortem for daughter; keeps body in salt pit for 44 days

Mumbai, Sep 16: The body of a tribal woman was preserved in a salt pit for 44 days in Maharashtra's Nandurbar by her father, who alleged that she had been raped before her death, and demanded that a second post-mortem be conducted on her, an official said.

The body of the 21-year-old woman was brought to the state-run J J Hospital in Mumbai from Nandurbar district, located in the northwest corner of Maharashtra, on Thursday, he said.

"A committee of expert doctors is being formed and the post-mortem is likely to be conducted on Friday," he said, adding that the procedure will be video-graphed. The woman was found hanging at Vavi in Dhadgaon taluka of Nandurbar on August 1.

The father of the woman had claimed that she was raped by four men, police officials said. Following her death, post-mortem was conducted on her at a state-run hospital in Nandurbar.

The autopsy report ruled out any foul play and a case of suicide was registered, the police official said, adding that three persons were arrested in connection with the case. But the deceased woman's family members, including father, alleged that police did not investigate the case properly, and hence they decided to preserve the body instead of cremating it, he said.

The family buried her body buried in pit filled with salt at their village in Dhadgaon as they sought a second post-mortem in order to bring the truth out about her death, the official said. Salt is used to inhibit the process of decomposition, "As the body was kept in the salt pit for weeks, the authorities agreed to conduct another post-mortem in Mumbai.

Accordingly, the body was brought to J J Hospital on Thursday afternoon for post-mortem," he said.