Sangita Sharma, elder sister of actress Nilakshi Sharma, addresses the media in Guwahati on Saturday. Picture by Eastern Projections

Guwahati, July 26: The family members of actress Nilakshi Sharma, who died under “mysterious” circumstances on July 17, today accused a section of police and the Assam Medical College Hospital (AMCH) authorities of trying to hush up the case.

Addressing a press conference here today, the actress’s sister Sangeeta alleged that when she went to the AMCH on July 18, a section of the police and the hospital officials refused to conduct a post-mortem, saying that it was not a medico-legal case.

Nilakshi’s cousin Manoj Sharma said the police personnel at Barbari outpost near AMCH refused to send the body for an autopsy.

“Even after I told them that we were ready to file an FIR, suspecting it to be a murder, the policemen at the outpost and some staff of the hospital refused to co-operate with us. They said an autopsy could not be done as it was not a medico-legal case. It was only after we contacted Dibrugarh deputy commissioner Ashutosh Agnihotri and superintendent of police Anurag Agarwal, that the police agreed,” Sarma said.

The actress’s family accused singer Krishnamoni Chutia — in whose album Nilakshi was acting — of negligence in providing medical treatment. At the time of her death, Nilakshi was shooting a song sequence of Chutia’s album, Chal Gori part-II, at Namrup in Dibrugarh district.

“When we were in Dibrugarh, neither Chutia nor anyone from his unit co-operated with us. All of them were tightlipped about the circumstances leading to her death. The medical prescriptions given to us showing that she was ill since July 15 appear to be forged. I talked to her over the phone on July 17 morning and she sounded perfectly okay,” Sangeeta said.

The Dibrugarh police have registered a case of unnatural death at Namrup police station and will conduct DNA tests to ascertain whether she was in a relationship. The post mortem report said had she was six weeks pregnant.

The residents of Baihata Chariali, the area from which the deceased hails, have demanded a judicial inquiry into her death. A committee has been formed to mount pressure on the government.