Here’s a look at what has happened in the Twisha Sharma death case in last 24 hours.
Supreme Court takes up Twisha Sharma’s case
A bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant is hearing the case. The Supreme Court took up the case on its own and listed it for a hearing on May 25. Apart from Chief Justice Kant, the bench will have Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul M Pancholi.
The top court has listed the matter as “Alleged institutional bias and procedural discrepancies in the unnatural death of a young girl at her matrimonial home” and will hear allegations related to procedural irregularities and institutional bias.
Meanwhile, Sharma’s family has alleged her husband and in-laws, including his mother, tried to mislead the investigation and influence the case. Her husband, Samarth Singh, is a lawyer and her mother-in-law, Giribala Singh, is a retired judge.
Claiming that her in-laws have strong links in the legal system, Twisha Sharma’s family has expressed concern over what they describe as attempts to manipulate the justice process.
Husband sent to 7-day police custody
A court in Bhopal on Saturday remanded Samarth Singh, the husband of former actor Twisha Sharma and an accused in her alleged dowry death case, to a seven-day police custody. After arresting Singh from Jabalpur on Friday, police produced him before Judicial Magistrate First Class Anudita Gupta in Bhopal.
The court granted the police seven days’ custody of the accused for interrogation. The counsel for Singh also submitted the accused’s passport to the court. A lawyer by profession, Singh had been evading arrest since an FIR was registered against him and his mother following Twisha Sharma’s death on May 12. A reward of Rs 30,000 was declared on information leading to his arrest.
AIIMS Delhi team flew to Bhopal for second autopsy
A four-member team of doctors from AIIMS Delhi was slated to fly to Bhopal in the evening to conduct a second autopsy of the actor-model following the Madhya Pradesh High Court’s order.
The medical team, which reached Bhopal tonight by a state-chartered plane, will conduct the second autopsy on Sunday. Chief of Forensic Medicine at AIIMS Delhi, Dr Sudhir Gupta, said the court order authorised the director of AIIMS Delhi to constitute the medical board.
The hospital received the order and request from Madhya Pradesh government officials to conduct the postmortem on Sunday morning. “The team, along with the latest instruments flew by a state-chartered plane. The autopsy will be conducted on Sunday at AIIMS Bhopal where the body has been kept in a mortuary,” Dr Gupta said.
‘Police yet to reach out to her statement’: Giribala Singh
Former judge Giribala Singh, booked for the death of her daughter-in-law Twisha Sharma, allegedly due to dowry harassment, said on Saturday that she would be happy to record her statement, but Bhopal Police have not reached out to her.
She cited a chaotic situation outside her house, apparently referring to a posse of media persons, while expressing her inability to step out.
“I cannot venture out of my home. Yesterday (Friday), a car hit my advocate. I cannot step out at all due to the situation outside. I will be happy to give my statement,” the chairperson of the Bhopal District Consumer Court told PTI over the phone, referring to the anxious crowd of media persons outside her residence.
Twisha Sharma, a 33-year-old model-turned-actor from Noida, was found hanging at her marital home in Bhopal’s Katara Hills area on May 12. While her in-laws allege she suffered from drug addiction, her family maintains she was harassed for dowry, leading to her death.
‘No sign of remorse’: Twisha Sharma’s brother attacks Samarth
Twisha’s brother, Major Harshit Sharma, who was present during the proceedings of Samarth Singh, claimed that he displayed no remorse over his wife’s death.
“I have not spoken to Samarth, nor did I express any desire to do so. However, there was absolutely no remorse visible on his face regarding his wife’s death. There was no sign of grief over his wife’s demise on his face when he appeared in court,” Major Harshit Sharma said.
Harshit also added that the coming week would be critical after the court granted the police seven days’ custody of Samarth Singh.