The request was allegedly made by Twisha Sharma’s mother-in-law, Gribala Singh, a retired additional district judge $2 lakh at the time of her son’s marriage, according to the FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the ‘dowry death’ case in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal.
The agency officially took over the investigation into the death of the 32-year-old actor on Monday. This came hours after the Supreme Court was told the move was imminent, amid growing allegations of institutional bias, procedural issues and potential shortcomings in the investigation.
Twisha’s mother-in-law has demanded dowry: FIR
After taking over the investigation from the state police, the CBI re-registered a dowry death case against the woman’s husband and mother-in-law under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act and the Dowry Prohibition Act.
According to the FIR registered by the CBI on May 25, 2026, seen by HT, Twisha Sharma married Samarth Singh in Uttar Pradesh’s Noida in December last year. Her family told police that they gave her a dowry and gifts beyond her financial capacity at the time of the wedding.
Twisha’s family also paid the amount $2 lakh at the request of her mother-in-law, Gribala Singh, according to the FIR.
The complaint said that shortly after the wedding, during the months of January and February, Twisha was subjected to taunts regarding dowry by her husband and mother-in-law, who allegedly said that the amount her parents spent on the wedding did not match their expectations.
The FIR also said that after marriage, her husband and mother-in-law did not give her money for her personal needs, forcing her parents to transfer money to her online.
The family alleged that, from January and February onwards, they faced psychological and physical harassment related to post-marriage dowry demands.
Twisha Sharma death case
Sharma was found dead at her home in Bhopal’s Katara Hills area on May 12, just five months after her marriage to lawyer Samarth Singh.
While her family accused the husband and his in-laws of dowry-related harassment, the accused side denied these accusations and said that she died by suicide.
Her husband, who had allegedly been on the run since her death, was arrested last week after evading arrest for 10 days. Meanwhile, the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Monday postponed the hearing of petitions challenging anticipatory bail granted to Giribala Singh till May 27, after the defense sought time to file its reply.
The Supreme Court took cognizance of the incident and heard the matter on Monday. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and comprising Justices Joymalia Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi recorded the Madhya Pradesh government’s statement that it had already written to the Center seeking a CBI probe into the case.
