Ex-judge alleges lawyer assaulted her son in dowry death case hearing

Former district judge and accused Giribala Singh on Tuesday alleged before a Bhopal court that Twisha Sharma's lawyer, Anurag Srivastava, had physically assaulted her son, Samarth Singh, during a hearing at the Jabalpur court in the dowry death case. The allegation surfaced after the Central Bureau of Investigation produced Samarth Singh and Giribala Singh before the court following the completion of their five-day custodial remand in connection with the death of 33-year-old Twisha Sharma. Giribala claimed that Samarth had been assaulted by Srivastava during proceedings in Jabalpur. Responding to the allegation, Srivastava denied the charge and said the claim could be verified through CCTV footage installed within the court premises. He further challenged Samarth Singh to disclose where he had allegedly been hiding within the Jabalpur court complex. During the hearing, Giribala also objected to what she described as a "media trial" surrounding the case. "The media trial must cease. Wherever we go, the media follows us; this must be stopped. Our lives are in danger," she told the court. She additionally raised concerns over the recent crime scene recreation conducted by the CBI, alleging procedural irregularities. Giribala questioned why she had been dropped three houses away from her residence instead of directly at her doorstep and objected to footage of the exercise being circulated in the media. The CBI informed the court that while it was currently seeking judicial remand for the accused, it reserved the right to seek further police remand if required during the investigation. "At this stage, we are requesting judicial remand; however, should the need arise, we will seek police remand," the agency told the court. The case relates to the death of Twisha Sharma, a Noida resident who died in Bhopal on May 12. Her family has alleged that she was subjected to dowry harassment and mental torture by her husband and in-laws. The CBI investigation is ongoing.