Rohit Shekhar Tiwari, wife Apoorva had troubled marriage, says mother Ujjwala Tiwari

The mystery surrounding the death of Rohit Shekhar Tiwari, the son of former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand the late ND Tiwari, seems to deepen with each passing day. According to the post-mortem examination report, he died an ‘unnatural death’ due to “asphyxia” as he was strangulated and smothered to death. Now that the Crime Branch has been handed over the investigation of the case, some more murkier details have emerged even as Rohit’s wife Apoorva Shukla Tiwari and his cousin Pappu are yet to be questioned. It is said that Pappu and his wife Kumkum are very close to the family. Rohit's mother Ujjwala also said that Rohit and his wife Apoorva didn’t share a cordial relationship ever since they had got married.

Apart from the domestic help, Bhola, Pappu and Apoorva, were in the house when he died. His mother Ujjwala Tiwari, who was admitted to Max hospital, received a call from her house about her son being "unwell and bleeding from the nose". Bhola said that Rohit often slept late into the day and there was nothing uncommon about that. 

The family returned from Dehradun on April 15 after casting their vote. Rohit and Apoorva were in one car, while Ujjwala travelled in another car. The family went to their rooms around 11.30 pm. However, Rohit’s phone call details showed that he had made calls to his journalist friend and his sister-in-law Kumkum between 2 am to 4:14 am on the morning of April 16. But none received his call.

Following the post-mortem at AIIMS in Delhi, police on Thursday registered a case of murder and transferred it to the Crime Branch for investigation. Apoorva's father, on the other hand, said that his daughter was innocent and that she has no role in Rohit's death. The Crime Branch interrogated Apoorva on Saturday.

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Certain revelations from the autopsy report and sequence of events seem to be leading the focus of the investigation on the role of Rohit’s family.

According to an India Today report, the post-mortem report states Rohit’s time of death at 1:30 am on April 16. However, he was taken to the hospital around 5 in the evening. This means that he was lying dead inside the house for almost 15 hours.

The footage from CCTV cameras installed in and around the house and the testimony of servants revealed that Rohit came back home in an inebriated state and could be seen taking support of walls while walking.

Also, no one from the family lodged a complaint following Rohit’s death. Despite the autopsy report revealing strangulation and smothering as the cause of death, Ujjwala said that she "does not see any conspiracy" behind her son's death, according to a News18 report.

She said she fails to understand why the probe was handed over to the crime branch, adding that “if there is any conspiracy, then I wish God does justice with everyone”.

News18 further quoted her saying that Rohit was in depression while sources said that he was on medication and often “behaved aggressively” inside the house.