Gribala Singh, the retired judge accused in the daughter-in-law’s death case, claimed during a heated hearing on Tuesday that her life and that of her accused son Samarth Singh are in danger. She also requested an end to what she described as a media trial, saying that it was being followed everywhere.
Twisha Sharma, a woman in her 30s, was found dead on May 12 at her marital home in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, a death that was initially suspected to be a suicide but later led to an investigation into allegations against her husband – Samarth – and mother-in-law Gribala Singh of harassment as well as dowry demands.
Amid the investigation into Twisha Singh’s death, the circumstances surrounding which remain a mystery, Giripala Singh has been in the spotlight for her comments about her deceased daughter-in-law that some, including Twisha’s family, have described as character assassination.
In one of her many statements, Giribala Singh’s love for plants more than people was quite evident when she said that her daughter-in-law did not water the plants despite her pre-marriage claim that she was fond of plants.
Internal details from the latest hearing
Gribala Singh on Tuesday alleged in a Bhopal court that Twisha Sharma’s lawyer Anurag Srivastava physically assaulted her son in a Jabalpur court during the hearing in the alleged dowry murder case.
The allegation came to light during the hearing after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) produced Samarth and Giripala Singh before the court after completing their five-day remand. They were detained in judicial custody for 14 days.
Gribala claimed that Samarth was assaulted by lawyer Anurag Srivastava during the proceedings in Jabalpur, news agency ANI reported. Responding to the allegation, Srivastava denied the charge and said that the allegation can be verified through CCTV footage installed inside the court building.
As the conversation intensified during the hearing, Samarth Singh was asked to reveal where he was hiding inside the Jabalpur court complex.
Giripala later objected to what she described as the “media trial” surrounding the case. “The prosecution of the media must stop. Wherever we go, the media follows us; this must stop. Our lives are in danger,” Gribala Singh was quoted as saying to the court by ANI.
It also raised concerns over the recent recreation of the crime scene conducted by the CBI, alleging procedural irregularities. Giripala questioned why it was dropped three houses away from her home instead of directly on her doorstep and took issue with footage of the exercise being circulated in the media.
The CBI informed the court that while it is currently seeking judicial remand of the accused, it reserves the right to seek additional police remand if necessary during the investigation.
“At this stage, we are requesting pretrial detention; however, if the need arises, we will request police remand,” the agency told the court.
The CBI reconstructed the circumstances of Twisha Sharma’s death at her matrimonial home in Bhopal using puppets on Monday.
