The police on May 7 exhumed the body of vlogger Rifa Mehnu for post-mortem examination from the burial ground of Pavandoor Juma Masjid in Kozhikode district. The decision to carry out post-mortem was taken by the special investigation team following the complaint of her parents that she was suspected to be murdered.
A medical team from Kozhikode Medical College reached the spot at 9 a.m. to complete the procedure. Thamarassery Deputy Superintendentof Police T.K. Ashraf had previously secured permission from the Revenue Divisional Officer to exhume the body as part of the continuing investigation.
According to the vlogger’s parents, no post-mortem examination was conducted in Dubai to ascertain the cause of death other than few forensic investigations. They claimed that there were deliberate attempts to hide the truth and propagate the false information that the post-mortem was conducted in Dubai.
On March 1, the body of Mehnu was found in her apartment in Dubai. The incident was taken up for investigation by the local police here after her parents found suspicious elements in the incident. Following the preliminary investigation into the incident, her husband Mehnas, a native of Kasaragod district, had been booked under Section 306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The police had confirmed that the 21-year old hailing from Balussery was a victim of her husband’s alleged mental torture over her social media popularity. According to the officials, the man was reportedly upset over her social media influence and the increasing number of subscribers to her Youtube channel.
Mehnu’s family members came up with their demand for a post-mortem on the basis of some of the conversations in which she had earlier revealed her harrowing experiences. Treating this as the main proof, they had also approached the District Police Chief (Kozhikode rural) to proceed with an investigation after securing permission from the higher authorities as the death occurred in a foreign country.
