Madras High Court allows second autopsy

The Madras High Court on Wednesday allowed a second autopsy on the body of T. Monisha, one of the three girl students who according to the police committed suicide, said an advocate.

"Hearing the petition filed by Monisha's father Tamilarasan the court permitted the conduct of a second post mortem at the government hospital here," R. Sankarasubbu, the counsel for Tamilarasan and father of Monisha, told IANS.

The court on Monday (January 25) had ordered preservation of the body till Wednesday.

Sankarasubbu added that the court said as the father (Tamilarasan) himself has asked for it, the second autopsy is allowed.

Sankarasubbu said the girl's body, now in Villupuram, has to be brought here for autopsy.

The bodies of the three girl students -- Monisha, A. Saranya and V.Priyanka -- were taken out of a well in a farm near the SVS Naturopathy and Yoga College on January 23 evening. Villupuram is around 170 km from here.

While police registered a case of suicide, the parents of the girls have alleged the daughters were murdered for protesting against the lack of basic facilities in the college.

The police arrested Vasuki, Sukhi Verma and two others -- top officials of SVS Naturopathy and Yoga College in Tamil Nadu's Villupuram district -- while the Villupuram district administration sealed the college.

"Without Tamilarasan's consent and despite his demand for a post-mortem in a hospital in Chennai, the police conducted the autopsy in Villupuram," his counsel Sankarasubbu had told IANS earlier.

Sankarasubbu said Tamilarasan has petitioned the court to transfer investigations from the Villupuram police to the CB-CID wing of Tamil Nadu Police and a second autopsy in a Chennai hospital.

"Our contention is that the district administration is helping the college management in the case," Sankarasubbu alleged.

Police said the three girl students ended their lives after the management demanded higher fees even though the college lacked basic facilities.

Nearly four months ago, a few students of the college had allegedly attempted suicide in front of the Villupuram collectorate.