NRHM scam: Accountant smothered to death, says autopsy

The Uttar Pradesh health department accountant Mahendra Sharma, who was found murdered in his home on Thursday, was smothered to death, said the autopsy report.Ante-mortem smothering has been stated to be the cause of the death and six injuries were also detected on his body, Additional Superintendent of Police Rajiv Malhotra said.[caption id="attachment_216207" align="alignleft" width="380" caption="Screengrab/ibnlive"][/caption]The post mortem was conducted by a panel of three doctors and the entire process was videographed, he said. With Sharma's death, the NRHM scam in the state turned murkier as he became the fifth victim in the last one year after the alleged bungling of over Rs 10,000 crore of central funds surfaced.UP police found the body of Sharma lying in a pool of blood with severe injuries on his head and face, from the Pasgawan health centre area in Lakhimpur Kheri district last evening. 52-year-old Sharma has been reported missing since 7 February, police said.In 2010-11, two senior doctors associated with the health department were murdered within months of each other. Another official was found dead in a Lucknow jail. In January, a UP Jal Nigam officer allegedly committed suicide because he was being investigated in connection with the scam.PTI