In a major development in the high-profile alleged dowry death case of actor-model Twisha Sharma, a Bhopal district court on Friday remanded her mother-in-law, former district judge Giribala Singh, and husband Samarth Singh to five-day Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) custody. Both accused were produced before the court after separate medical examinations were conducted under security arrangements.
The probe agency had arrested Giribala Singh on Thursday after more than seven hours of questioning at her residence in the Katara Hills area of Bhopal.
Following her arrest, she was taken to a special medical camp set up at the Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (MANI) campus, Bhopal, for examination before being produced in court.
Giribala Singh’s arrest came hours after the Madhya Pradesh High Court rejected her interim bail plea on Thursday.
Samarth Singh was brought to court after completion of his earlier police remand. He was arrested by Bhopal Police from Jabalpur on May 22 after remaining untraceable for nearly a week following Twisha Sharma’s death on May 12.
Meanwhile, after entering the courtroom of Sessions Judge Shobhana Bhalavi, Giribala Singh and Samarth Singh stood together in the accused box. They were reportedly seen speaking to each other quietly while the proceedings were underway.
Twisha Sharma death case
Twisha Sharma was allegedly found hanging at her in-laws’ residence in Katara Hills. Her family later accused her husband and in-laws of dowry harassment, leading to demands for a detailed investigation.
Samarth Singh was first produced before a Judicial Magistrate First Class court in Bhopal on May 23. The court had then sent him to police custody till May 29.
After taking over the investigation on the recommendation of the Madhya Pradesh government, the CBI sought fresh custody of Samarth for further interrogation.
During the remand period, the agency took Samarth to the alleged crime scene and conducted a detailed forensic inspection with the help of a specialised team from Delhi.
The CBI team spent several hours at the Katara Hills residence carrying out photography, videography and collection of evidence while questioning Samarth about the events of the night of May 12.
