The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday filed a 636-page chargesheet against former judge of the Bhopal District Court, Giribala Singh, and her son Samarth Singh in connection with the death of former actor-model, Twisha Sharma, the wife of the latter and the daughter-in-law of the former.

Notably, Sharma (33) had allegedly died by suicide at her matrimonial house in Bhopal over allegation of dowry harassment, marital cruelty and abetment to suicide. She was discovered dead at her matrimonial home in the city’s Katara Hills area on May 12, 2026, barely five months after her marriage.

Kin allege mental, physical abuse by in-laws

After Twisha’s death, her kin had levelled allegations of mental and physical abuse against her in-laws, claiming it compelled her to end her life. Furthermore, they claimed that her in-laws also attempted to destroy evidence by exploiting their influence and power.

As per sources, the provisions pertaining to dowry death, cruelty by a husband or his relatives, abetment to suicide and acts carried out with common criminal intention have been invoked against the mother-son duo.

Twisha's mother-in-law Giribala Singh (Left) and Twisha Sharma (Right)

Husband nabbed after manhunt

Following Twisha’s death, the police had registered an FIR and had launched a manhunt to nab Samarth, who was initially at large. Later, he was arrested on May 22 in Jabalpur, and was subsequently brought to Bhopal.

The probe into the case was then handed over to the CBI, which secured Samarth’s custody for interrogation. The agency’s sleuths examined several aspects of his activities, including cell phone usage, digital contacts and events surrounding the period of Twisha’s death.

Adding to the developments, the Supreme Court (SC) took suo motu cognisance of the matter and issued directives to probe the case fairly and independently. By then, the Madhya Pradesh Government had also recommended an investigation by the CBI.

Injuries, 2nd autopsy under scanner

Twisha’s post-mortem examination emerged as a crucial aspect of the probe. According to records placed before the MP High Court, the report documents six injuries on Twisha’s body, besides recording hanging as the cause of death.

The injury raised questions on the circumstances surrounding her death and became an important line of inquiry for the CBI sleuths. Following a demand from Twisha’s family, a second post-mortem examination was conducted, during which the medical and forensic investigation widened.

A gymnastics belt also emerged as a pivotal piece of evidence. It was seized and was sent for forensic examination as the CBI’s investigators sought to determine whether the sequence of events described by the accused; particularly the alleged removal of Twisha’s body from the noose and the unfastening of the belt was physically possible.

CBI recreated sequence of events

Recreation of events at Twisha's matrimonial house in Bhopal

As part of its in-depth probe, the central agency recreated the crime scene at the Katara Hills located house in MP’s capital, to piece together the sequence of events and test the claims made by the accused.

The initial FIR had been registered three days after Twisha’s death, under Sections 80(2), 85 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act. The chargesheet filed and submitted by the CBI also includes Section 108 of the BNS, which pertains to abetment to suicide.