Haryana teacher death: Web remains closed in 2 districts as govt transfers case to CBI

Relatives of a young Haryana playschool teacher who was discovered dead on Tuesday have rejected police speculation that she might have taken her own life. Members of her family refused the last rites on Tuesday, claiming that she had been murdered and demanding justice.

On Tuesday, the Haryana state govt. suspended internet services in two districts of Bhiwani and Charkhi Dadri for 48 hours and sent in extra police forces to stop any law-and-order problem, The Indian Express stated.

Meanwhile, the murder of the 19-year-old woman has been greeted with widespread anger in her native village and villages around it. The locals have intensified their protests, insisting on a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the incident. To barricade the village, locals placed stones and tree branches on joining roads.

After the furore, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini announced that the case will be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for a fair and impartial probe.

In an X post, CM Saini had said, "The state government and police administration are taking all seriousness and transparency to provide our Bhiwani girl Manisha and her family justice. I myself am personally reading the reports of this case regularly. As per the family's demand, the Haryana government is going to shift this case to the CBI for a fair inquiry. Justice will be delivered fully in this case."

The woman had gone missing on August 11 after she had left home to meet a college with regard to queries for a nursing course. Two days afterward, on August 13, her body was discovered in a field in Bhiwani. Police later confirmed that forensic tests on her viscera and a handwritten note suggested that she could have ingested insecticide to end her life.

The woman had gone missing on August 11 after going out to meet a college to enquire about a nursing course. Her body was recovered two days later, on August 13, from an open field in Bhiwani. Police subsequently stated forensic examination of her viscera and a handwritten note that she had left suggested that she could have ingested insecticide to commit suicide.

A former sarpanch of the village also condemned the police, alleging that from the beginning they did not even investigate the case properly. The family claimed that when on the evening of August 11 the girl failed to come back home, they dialed Haryana's emergency helpline (Dial-112) and informed the police.

As reported by The Indian Express, the police officers accompanied the family to the college but interrogated only three inebriated men, who said that the girl had not been discovered and the college had closed at 1 pm. The sarpanch inquired as to why the police did not search the campus thoroughly and accused them of floating the suicide theory to assuage public anger.

There were also queries over the timing of the purported suicide note. In response to questioning why the note was not made public earlier, Rohtak Range IGP Y Puran Kumar replied that it was found on August 13 in the place where the body was recovered, though this information is not necessarily offered during the early stages of an investigation.

The IGP also stated that the investigation was conducted scientifically and in a strictly proper manner. The postmortem had been conducted twice, first at Bhiwani Civil Hospital and then at PGIMS Rohtak. Doctors kept their opinion suspended till viscera and other laboratory test reports were available. The results on Monday confirmed the presence of a toxic insecticide, an organophosphorus compound, in her kidney and intestine, the IGP stated. A medical board later advised the family of the outcome.

Despite all these accusations, protests continue. Fearing disturbances, the state government blocked internet, bulk SMS, and dongle services in the two districts from 11 am on August 19 until 11 am on August 21. The official directive, issued by Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Sumita Misra, did not mention the death but talked of the possibility of public disturbance, harm to property, and spreading of objectionable content on social media.

The order further stated that misuse of platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, and SMS can lead to mobilisation of agitators and dissemination of rumours, leading to vandalism, arson, or violence.