Twisha Sharma's Husband Remanded to CBI Custody in Dowry Death Case

A court in Bhopal on Wednesday remanded Twisha Sharma’s husband, Samarth Singh, to the custody of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), a lawyer said. The CBI on Monday took over the investigation into the death of former model-actor Twisha Sharma, who was allegedly found hanging at her marital home in Bhopal on May 12. The agency has re-registered the Madhya Pradesh Police FIR, naming her husband Samarth Singh and mother-in-law Giribala Singh as accused. Earlier, Samarth, a lawyer by profession, was arrested by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the state police from Jabalpur and brought to Bhopal, where a magistrate court remanded him to seven days of police custody, advocate Ankur Pandey told PTI. As the SIT no longer required Samarth Singh’s custody following the transfer of the probe to the CBI, the accused was produced before the court, where the federal agency sought his remand, the lawyer said. Accordingly, the court remanded Samarth in CBI custody, he said. Since the custody of the accused and all related documents have now been handed over to the CBI, any further investigation into the case will be carried out by the central agency, he said. "Today's proceedings in the magistrate's court were merely a formality. From this point onward, any further legal proceedings will take place in the CBI court concerned," he said. Taking over the investigation from the state police, the CBI invoked sections 80(2) (dowry death), 85 (husband or relatives subjecting a woman to cruelty), and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with provisions of the Dowry Prohibition Act — the same charges earlier applied by the state police. The Bhopal police had registered the FIR two days after Twisha’s death. In their statements, Twisha’s family members alleged that she was harassed by her in-laws. They accused the in-laws of subjecting the 33-year-old former Miss Pune to mental harassment and domestic violence, allegedly driving her to take the extreme step. In several media interviews, Twisha’s mother-in-law, however, questioned her alleged medical treatment and mental condition. Samarth Singh was arrested in Jabalpur on May 22 after remaining absconding for 10 days. On Sunday, a team of doctors from AIIMS Delhi conducted a second post-mortem on Twisha in Bhopal following directions from the Madhya Pradesh High Court, after her parents raised serious concerns over alleged procedural lapses by local authorities. (With agency inputs)