Twisha Sharma’s family, the daughter-in-law of a retired judge who was found hanging at her marital home, has sought a second postmortem examination at AIIMS Delhi and refused to accept her body, alleging lapses in probe.

The city police on Wednesday urged the family to take custody of her body amid concerns that it could begin decomposing while they await a fresh autopsy nod.

Later, a local court directed that the body of Twisha Sharma be preserved, but rejected her family's plea for a second autopsy.

Judicial magistrate first class Anudita Gupta said a letter be issued to police directing them to obtain information regarding "low-temperture preservation facility" in Madhya Pradesh, and submit a report to the court without delay.

On Tuesday, the court had called for the case diary before deciding on her parents' application that her body be preserved and a second postmortem examination be conducted outside the state.

In their plea, Twisha's family pointed out flaws in the investigation and pointed out, among other things, that the FIR was registered three days after she was found dead.

The investigators did not provide the "ligature" (the belt allegedly used in the hanging) when the first post-mortem examination was conducted at a hospital here, the plea said.

The family sought a second post-mortem examination at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi, according to their lawyer Ankur Pandey.

They apprehended that as her mother-in-law, retired additional district judge Giribala Singh's sister is a Bhopal-based surgeon, she could influence the second autopsy if it was conducted at a city hospital, he said.

The surgeon was seen near AIIMS Bhopal when Twisha's first post-mortem examination took place, Pandey claimed.

Twisha's body has been kept in the mortuary of the AIIMS Bhopal since the first autopsy was conducted on May 13.

In a letter addressed to Twisha's father, Navnidhi Sharma, the Katara Hills police station in-charge said the body was currently being preserved at minus four degrees celsius in the AIIMS Bhopal mortuary.

Citing a communication from AIIMS, the police said preservation of the body for a longer period required storage at minus 80 degrees celsius, a facility not available at AIIMS Bhopal.

The letter stated that Twisha's family had requested the police commissioner to preserve the body and facilitate a second postmortem examination.

While the police had no objection to a second autopsy, there was a strong possibility of decomposition as the body had remained in the mortuary for several days, the police said, urging Navnidhi Sharma to take custody of the body at the earliest.

In their application, the family alleged lapses in the investigation and pointed out that the FIR was registered three days after Twisha was found dead.

Giribala Singh had denied the allegations of harassment.

The plea also alleged that the investigators did not provide the material allegedly used in the hanging during the first postmortem examination.

A special investigation team is probing allegations of dowry harassment, physical assault and destruction of evidence in the case.