A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal on Tuesday remanded model and former actor Twisha Sharma’s husband, Samarth Singh, and her mother-in-law, Gribala Singh, to remand for 14 days.
Twisha was found dead at her marital home in Bhopal on May 12. Her family accused her husband Samarth and his mother, retired judge Giripala Singh, of dowry torture, while the accused insisted it was suicide. The case was initially registered by the Bhopal Police, and was later handed over to the Central Bank of India on the recommendation of the state government.
Justice Shobna Bhagavi directed the authorities to ensure special security arrangements for Samarth and Giripala Singh, after the latter expressed concerns for their safety. Gribala Singh noted that many hardened criminals detained in Bhopal Central Jail once faced tough sentences, and their presence posed a threat to her and her son.
The court ordered them to be kept in Bhopal Central Prison until June 16, but in separate, secure cells. “Staying with the prison inmates I punished in the past would be dangerous for our lives,” Gribala, representing herself, said.
It also urged the court to stop what it described as a media trial and expressed its fear for their safety. “False allegations are being made against us. We have not released any CCTV footage of the incident. I have no idea how the media got this,” she said.
Referring to Monday’s crime scene reenactment, she said: “Wherever we go, the media follows us. Yesterday, we were taken on foot to the house so the media could cover it.”
The court ordered the CBI to shift Samarth and Giripala Singh to jail secretly, and said they would be escorted from the courtroom to the car secretly to avoid public exposure.
During the hearing, Giribala Singh alleged that Twisha’s lawyer, Anurag Srivastava, physically assaulted her son in the Jabalpur district court when he went there to surrender. Srivastava denied the charge, saying: “CCTV cameras have been installed in the court building. Facts can be verified. No such incident happened.”
Throughout the interrogation, both Samarth and Giripala Singh maintained their innocence, claiming that they never harassed Twisha physically or mentally. Meanwhile, Twisha’s family has demanded the return of the jewelery given to her at the time of the marriage, which the CBI has agreed to pursue.
The CBI produced Samarth and Giripala Singh before the chief judicial magistrate after five days of interrogation, which included re-enactment of the crime scene and virtual reconstruction of the timeline. The agency informed the court that interrogation will resume once it receives crucial evidence — including the second post-mortem report, analysis of viscera, forensic examination of mobile phones, laptops and other materials — to ascertain the facts and strengthen the investigation, advocate Srivastava said.
