CBI to probe trainee airhostess death

RANCHI: The Jharkhand High Court on Thursday ordered a CBI probe into the mysterious death of a trainee airhostess in May this year. The court also pulled up the state police for dilly-dallying the investigation process. Adivision bench comprising Chief Justice Gyan Sudha Misra and Justice DK Sinhaalso asked the department to take disciplinary action against investigatingofficer Neeraj Kumar Mishra.Maushmi Choudhary, a trainee airhostess at Aha Airhostess Training Institute in Sakchi, Jamshedpur, was on deputation at Hotel Sonet at Bistupur along with 10 other students. On May 9, her scarf got reportedly stuck in the washing machine in the hotel as a result of which she suffered strangulation. She was resportedly rescued by the staff and rushed to a hospital, where after 10 days she died.The bench adopted a strongapproach after Tapshi Choudhary, mother of Maushmi, met the chief justice. Soonher plea for a CBI probe was converted into a PIL. Claiming the police wereinitilaly reluctant to register an FIR, Tapshi alleged on Saturday the caseinvolved influential people.On Wednesday, the court pulled up thepolice for several shortcomings in recording Maushmi's statement. Counsel PASPati questioned the validity of the autopsy report, which mentioned injuriesmade by a hard and blunt object. He stressed that police seized the victim'sclothes but did not use it in the probe. "These could have provided vital cluesbut police deliberately tried to portray the incident as an accident,'' headded.