The legal battle surrounding the death of 33-year-old former model-turned-actress Twisha Sharma intensified on Thursday, as her family and her absconding husband, Samarth Singh, moved the Madhya Pradesh High Court. As the courtroom drama escalated, the Madhya Pradesh police clamped down on Samarth Singh, a career lawyer, issued a lookout bulletin (LoC) to prevent him from fleeing the country and tripled the cash reward for information leading to his arrest. $30,000.
Twisha, a woman from Noida who was allegedly harassed over dowry, was found dead on the night of May 12 at her matrimonial home in Katara Hills area of Bhopal. The police registered an FIR, charging her husband and mother-in-law, Gribala Singh, a retired additional district judge (ADJ), with dowry-related murder and harassment.
Samarth Singh, who has been on the run since the FIR was registered, moved the Jabalpur High Court seeking anticipatory bail after the Sessions Court refused to grant him relief, and his petition may come up for hearing on Friday.
Toysha’s family approached the Supreme Court challenging the district court’s decision to grant bail to Samarth’s mother, Gribala Singh, who currently heads the consumer court in Bhopal. Their petition is likely to come up for hearing on Monday.
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Twisha’s father, Navnidhi Sharma, told PTI that they will challenge Samarth’s anticipatory bail application as well when the date of hearing in the Supreme Court comes. He added: “I have complete confidence in the judiciary and I am sure that my daughter will get justice.”
The Madhya Pradesh Police, which has been criticized for allegedly shoddy investigation as it did not produce the belt with which Twisha allegedly hanged herself, is now showing no signs of slowing down.
Speaking to PTI Videos, Bhopal Police Commissioner Sanjay Kumar confirmed the aggressive steps being taken to trace the lawyer. “Efforts are on to arrest the main accused in the case. We have enhanced the reward to $“We have paid 30 lakh and also issued a watch notice in the matter,” Commissioner Kumar stated.
The Control Circular (LoC) officially alerts immigration authorities at all international airports, seaports and land border exit points to intercept and detain a person so that he or she does not attempt to leave the country.
The police have also referred a case to a local court to cancel Samarth Singh’s passport, which will be heard on May 23.
Lawyer Ankur Pandey, representing Toysha’s family, told PTI that they will challenge the anticipatory bail granted to Giribala Singh on the grounds that the subordinate court ignored evidence and rulings on presumption in dowry death cases under Section 118 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhinyam (BSA) Act, 2023.
It stipulates that if a woman dies under unnatural circumstances within seven years of marriage and it is proven that she was subjected to dowry-related cruelty by her husband or relatives immediately before her death, the court will presume that it was the accused who caused the death of her dowry.
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Samarth Singh claimed in his pre-arrest bail application before the Supreme Court that he and his family cooperated with the investigation, and there was no need for custodial interrogation as significant material had already been seized.
She added that the WhatsApp chats sent by the complainant were “edited and incomplete” and could not be relied upon.
Twisha Sharma was found hanging at her marital home here on May 12. Her family accused her in-laws of dowry harassment and abetment to suicide, while Singh’s family claimed that she was addicted to drugs.
The police registered an FIR under Sections 80 (2) (death due to dowry), 85 (husband or relatives of husband subjecting married woman to cruelty) and 3 (5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita along with relevant provisions of the Dowry Prohibition Act against Samarth Singh and his mother.
Speaking to PTI Videos, defense lawyer Mrignendra Singh said the couple had cordial relations and had only minor marital differences. He said that the accused side will also file a writ petition seeking a CBI investigation in the case.
Terming the police’s decision to announce a reward for Samarth Singh’s arrest as “wrong”, the lawyer said such action without a court order is against the purpose of anticipatory bail provisions.
