The last rites of former actress and model Twisha Sharma, who was allegedly subjected to dowry harassment, were held on Sunday evening, soon after the AIIMS Delhi team completed her second post-mortem examination.
The 32-year-old actress and model was found dead at her home in Bhopal’s Katara Hills area on May 12, with her family alleging she was harassed and ill-treated over dowry. Her lawyer husband, Samarth Singh, who has been on the run for 10 days since an FIR was registered against him and his mother after Twisha’s death, surrendered to the Bhopal police on May 22 and is currently in police custody.
The victim was cremated at Bhadpada Vishram Ghat in Bhopal, where her brother Harshit lit the funeral pyre. Her mother-in-law, retired judge Giripala Singh, did not attend the cremation, while Samarth Singh was denied police permission to attend the ceremony.
The cremation was conducted after a team of doctors from AIIMS Delhi conducted a second examination of the body at AIIMS Bhopal for about four hours. The Madhya Pradesh High Court ordered a second autopsy following concerns raised by Twisha’s parents over procedural lapses by local authorities.
Meanwhile, AIIMS Delhi forensic chief Dr Sudhir Gupta said that compiling the report will take some time as certain laboratory tests, including tissue examination and viscera examination, need to be done.
Relationships soured after pregnancy: Samarth
According to officials familiar with the matter, Samarth told police during interrogation that their relationship soured after April 17, when Twisha learned of her pregnancy. An investigating officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “Twisha’s pregnancy was confirmed on April 17, 2026, after which she said she did not want a home life… On her return from the hospital, Twisha expressed her desire to go to her home in Delhi. That evening, she took a flight to Delhi and reached her home in Noida.”
Samarth also claimed that the couple had planned a trip to Bengaluru on April 24, but Twisha said she wanted to go to Ajmer, sparking a conflict. Quoting Samarth, “The two families intervened and the couple returned to Bhopal on April 30. Later, they quarreled after Samarth learned that Twisha spent only one day in Ajmer and the rest in Delhi. He said they quarreled over her observation that she belonged to the occult world and never wanted a confined domestic life.”
According to Samarth, on May 12, Twisha visited a beauty salon, returned at 6 pm, went for a walk with him, and they had dinner. He claimed she went downstairs to talk on the phone while he slept. His mother later alerted him that Twisha was nowhere to be found. Giripala found her hanging on the roof with a nylon exercise belt.
“Samarth said he rushed to support her, while his mother tried to untie the noose, tried CPR… He took her to AIIMS, where doctors declared her brought dead,” the officer added.
Twisha’s father, Navnidhi Sharma, rejected Samarth’s account and said, “When Twisha was talking on the phone, Samarth shouted from the background and hung up the phone…”
“Giribala Singh has been asked to stay home as the police will go to their house along with Samarth to reconstruct the crime scene…” SIT chief Rajneesh Kaul said.
