Bhopal: A team of doctors from All India Institute of Medical Sciences completed a second post-mortem examination of former model-turned-actor Twisha Sharma in Bhopal on Sunday, according to a lawyer representing her family.

Her funeral rites were held later in the evening, 12 days after her death, as the family appealed to residents of Bhopal, including women and social workers, to join the funeral procession.

The family had requested that the medical board adopt a multidisciplinary forensic, pathological and radiological approach to independently examine concerns they claimed had not been adequately addressed during the initial post-mortem conducted in Bhopal.

Twisha, 33, was found hanging at her matrimonial home in the Katara Hills area of Bhopal on 12 May. Her family has accused her in-laws of dowry harassment and abetment to suicide, while her in-laws have alleged that she struggled with drug addiction.

Acting on an order issued by the Madhya Pradesh High Court on 22 May, AIIMS Delhi constituted a four-member team of senior doctors to carry out the second autopsy.

The medical team arrived in Bhopal late on Saturday and reached AIIMS Bhopal at around 10am on Sunday. The second post-mortem began roughly an hour later after Twisha’s brother and sister-in-law formally identified her body, advocate Ankur Pandey told PTI. The examination concluded at 3.40pm.

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Earlier in the day, Twisha’s father, Navnidhi Sharma, said her final rites would take place at Bhadbhada Vishram Ghat at 5pm.

“Today, we are bidding farewell to a daughter, a sister, a friend and an innocent life,” he said. “The daughter who began a new chapter in life with dreams has left us far too soon.”

He urged local residents, social workers, women and young people to join the funeral procession and support the grieving family.

“Today, when Twisha merges with the five elements, it will not only be one family mourning, but every heart that believes in the safety, dignity and justice for daughters will feel this pain,” he added.

A senior doctor at AIIMS Bhopal, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the autopsy was conducted strictly in accordance with the High Court’s directions.

On Saturday, Twisha’s father submitted a detailed representation along with a copy of the High Court order to the medical board, outlining several concerns regarding the first post-mortem.

The family questioned alleged blunt-force injuries on Twisha’s left arm and forearm, the absence of a detailed dissection to determine the depth and age of the injuries, and the lack of radiological examination of the neck and cervical structures.

They also sought a correlation between the alleged ligature material and the injuries found on the neck, and requested a toxicological analysis of preserved viscera samples.

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In addition, the representation urged doctors to examine whether findings relating to the face, eyes and lungs were consistent with hanging, strangulation, suffocation or another possible cause of death.

Police have registered an FIR against Twisha’s husband, Samarth Singh, and her mother-in-law, former district judge Giribala Singh, on charges related to dowry harassment.

Samarth Singh was arrested in Jabalpur on Friday after allegedly remaining absconding for 10 days. A court in Bhopal on Saturday remanded him to seven days in police custody.