Samarth Singh, husband of model and actor Twisha Sharma, was taken into custody on Friday, 22nd May, after reaching the Jabalpur district court to surrender in the dowry death and harassment case linked to her death. He had been absconding for around 10 days after an FIR was registered on 15th May.
According to his lawyer, Jaideep Kaurav, Samarth came to the Jabalpur court to surrender, but the court was not available as proceedings had ended. After this, Jabalpur Police took him into custody and later handed him over to Bhopal Police. He is likely to be produced before a Bhopal court.
Bhopal Police Commissioner Sanjay Kumar confirmed the custody and said Samarth would be questioned as part of the ongoing investigation, and further procedures would be carried out. Samarth, who is a lawyer by profession, had reportedly entered the court premises wearing a mask, cap and sunglasses.
Police had earlier announced a reward of ₹10,000 for information about him, which was later increased to ₹30,000. The Bar Council of India chairman, Manan Kumar Mishra, also said Samarth’s licence had been suspended, considering the seriousness of the case.
High Court orders second autopsy by AIIMS Delhi team
The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Friday, 22nd May, ordered a second postmortem of Twisha Sharma’s body by a team of experts from AIIMS Delhi. Hearing a plea filed by Twisha’s father, Navnidhi Sharma, Justice Avanindra Kumar Singh said a fresh examination was needed, and it would help clear doubts.
The court clarified that ordering another postmortem did not question the earlier report or anyone involved in it. It asked the AIIMS Delhi Director to quickly form a medical team, while the state government was directed to arrange a special flight for their travel. The second postmortem will take place in Bhopal.
Bail challenge against mother-in-law, CBI probe recommended
The High Court also heard petitions seeking cancellation of anticipatory bail granted to Twisha’s mother-in-law, Giribala Singh, a retired judicial officer. Both Twisha’s family and the state government challenged the relief granted by a Bhopal court, saying she was not cooperating with the investigation.
The state stated she ignored multiple notices, avoided questioning and even failed to respond to a notice sent through WhatsApp. It also accused her of keeping copies of CCTV footage from the house and sharing selected clips on social media after police had already seized the recordings.
Meanwhile, the Madhya Pradesh government recommended a CBI probe into the case, days after Chief Minister Mohan Yadav met Twisha’s family. The state issued a notification giving consent for a CBI investigation across Madhya Pradesh in the matter.
Case background
Twisha Sharma, 33, was found hanging at her marital home in Bhopal on the night of 12th May. She had married Samarth Singh on 25th December last year.
Her family has accused Samarth and his mother of mental harassment and financial demands.
The case also drew attention after Giribala Singh publicly claimed that Twisha was dealing with mental health issues, was taking medicines used for schizophrenia patients and had substance addiction problems. The former judge, while securing an anticipatory bail, used the media to malign Twisha’s character and tried to make grounds to blame the alleged suicide on her so-called ‘mental health’, denying any harassment from her and her absconding son.
