Anissia Batra’s parents made a representation to the President of India, along with other authorities on 16 July, highlighting the loopholes in investigation process. The Batras stated in the representation that the case was not being properly investigated as Anissia’s in-laws were close relatives of two former Supreme Court judges. The Quint is in possession of the said document. In their submission, Maj Gen R S Batra (Retd) and Nillum Batra highlight several loopholes in the investigation process.
They mention that Anissia’s body did not not sustain any external bleeding despite her alleged jump from the 4th floor of her marital house.
They have also submitted Anissia’s last text message exchange with her friend where she fears for her life. The email sent by the deceased flight attendant’s parents is reproduced below:
Anissia’s Last Text Messages
At 2:56 pm on July 13, Anissia requested a close friend of hers to call the police because Mayank had locked her up. Her friend expressed her inability to do so because she was not in the vicinity. This exchange took place barely an hour before Anissia died.
After an hour, Anissia told her friend that Mayank had let her out. She sent her last text to this friend at 4:12 pm, minutes before she allegedly jumped off the terrace of her marital house. It said, “I’m going to kill myself today bcoz (sic) Mayank has driven me to it. He finally let me out but I can’t repair what he has done.”
Anissia’s family suspects that this message was not sent by her. A close family friend says, “In all likelihood, Anissia was murdered before that message was sent from her phone.”
After receiving her last message the friend responded by suggesting that Anissia either called the other friend or went to the latter’s house. That message was perhaps never read by Annissia.
Loopholes Highlighted in the Representation
The representation made by the Batras aims to highlight several loopholes in the investigation process. Some of them are:
- The Batras were not allowed by the police to enter their daughter’s matrimonial home when they reached Delhi after being informed about her demise. They were told that it was sealed off. The Batras say in the representation that all this while the Singhvi family was present in the house in question
- The police is under pressure because Anissia’s in-laws are close relatives of two retired judges of Supreme Court of India
- Investigation Officer was changed overnight and statements were recorded selectively
- Mayank had a spare set of keys to the sealed house and on 14 July he took away two cars and a dog along with other articles from the premise
- Anissia did not sustain any external injuries resulting in external bleeding. It sounds implausible considering she allegedly jumped to her death from the fourth floor
- Despite SDM orders to videotape the process of postmortem/autopsy, the same was not executed by the Investigating Officer
Videography happened only on 15 July during a second autopsy after the family and lawyers mounted pressure on the IO to follow SDM’s orders.
History of Violence
The representation also refers to a previous complaint filed in Hauz Khas police station on 27 June 2018, wherein Anissia’s father had said that right after marriage Mayank Singhvi had been “using physical force and beating her up.” The document shows that her father had suspected that Anissia’s in-laws might harm her in future and make it look like suicide.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)