- Ex-judge Giribala Singh and son Samarth Singh face CBI chargesheet in Twisha Sharma death case
- Charges include dowry death, cruelty, abetment to suicide, and common criminal intention
- Postmortem found six injuries; second autopsy and forensic analysis conducted
The Central Bureau of Investigation has filed a chargesheet against former judge Giribala Singh and her son Samarth Singh in the death case of his wife Twisha Sharma. The former judge and her lawyer son face allegations of dowry harassment.
Twisha Sharma was found dead at her husband's house in Bhopal on May 12, five months after their wedding. She was 33.
The 636-page chargesheet applied sections of the laws on dowry death, matrimonial cruelty, abetment to suicide and acts done with common criminal intention, sources said.
Twisha Sharma's family had alleged mental and physical abuse, and that her in-laws tried to destroy evidence using their influence and power.
After a first information report (FIR) was filed, Samarth Singh was initially unavailable to the police, which then began searching for him. He was arrested in Jabalpur on May 22 and brought to Bhopal.
The CBI then took over the case and got Samarth Singh into custody for questioning. His activities including mobile phone usage, digital contacts and events around the time of her death were analysed.
All these happened after the Supreme Court took note of the matter on its own and ordered a fair and independent investigation. The Madhya Pradesh government had also recommended a CBI probe by then.
The postmortem report played a crucial role in this case. According to records presented before the Madhya Pradesh High Court, the report noted six injuries on Twisha Sharma's body, in addition to the cause of death being hanging.
Questions arose regarding the origin of these injuries, which became crucial aspects of the investigation. Following a demand from Twisha Sharma's family, a second postmortem was conducted, and the medical and forensic investigations were advanced.
A gymnastics belt also became a key element of the investigation. It was subsequently recovered and subjected to forensic analysis. The CBI sought to determine whether the sequence of events claimed by the accused - specifically about taking the body down from the noose and unfastening the belt - was actually feasible.
To this end, the CBI recreated the crime scene at her in-laws' house.
The initial FIR was filed three days after Twisha Sharma's death under Sections 80(2), 85, and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act.
Section 80(2) pertains to dowry death, Section 85 relates to cruelty inflicted upon a woman by her husband or his relatives, while Section 3(5) deals with acts committed with the common criminal intention of multiple individuals.
The CBI's chargesheet also includes Section 108 of the BNS, which pertains to abetment of suicide.
