Samarth Singh Sent To 7-Day Police Custody Over The Mysterious Death Of Wife Twisha Sharma

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal court on Saturday sent Samarth Singh to police custody for seven days in the mysterious death of his 33-year-old wife Twisha Sharma. Meanwhile, the police have claimed that Samarth is not cooperating in the investigation.

This comes a day after Samarth, who is a Bhopal-based lawyer, emerged before the public as he reached the Jabalpur court to surrender himself after absconding for 10 days. He had been on the run ever since his wife Twisha, who was an actress and a former Miss Pune, was found hanging from the rooftop of their residence in Bhopal, roughly five months after their wedding.

Earlier suspected to be a case of suicide, Twisha's death mystery deepened as her family alleged that she was murdered at her matrimonial home. Suspicious heightened over the nature and the cause of her death since her husband went missing shortly after the tragedy.

Twisha's family also pointed to multiple injury marks on her body, alleging that she was murdered, and did not commit suicide. It is also alleged that Twisha terminated her pregnancy after her husband questioned her whose child she was carrying, accusing her of having extra-marital affair.

Further, Samarth's mother Giri Bala Singh, who is a former judge, dialled several influential people shortly after Twisha's death, giving rise to allegations of “judicial cover-up”.

Samarth Forbidden From Practising Law

In view of the grave allegations levelled against Samarth Singh, the Bar Council Of India (BCI) has suspended his license with immediate effect.

During the period of suspension, Samarth cannot appear, act, plead, practice, file vakalatnama, or hold himself out as entitled to practise before any Court, Tribunal, Authority or forum in India.

“In view of the seriousness of the allegations, the role of Advocate in killing his wife, the registration of criminal proceedings, the fact that the concerned advocate is the husband of the deceased…it is considered necessary to pass an urgent interim order in the interest of the legal profession and public confidence. Samarth Singh…is hereby suspended from practice as an advocate with immediate effect, pending further consideration,” the BCI stated.

Twisha's 2nd Autopsy Ordered

The Jabalpur High Court on Friday ordered a second post-mortem, directing that a specialised team constituted by the Director of AIIMS Delhi conduct the procedure in Bhopal. Justice Avnindra Kumar Singh passed the order after serious concerns were raised regarding the first autopsy report, forensic inconsistencies and gaps in the investigation.

The court directed that Twisha’s body be preserved at minus 80 degrees Celsius till the second autopsy is conducted. Videography of the entire procedure has also been mandated and will form part of the final report.

Here are the 10 lapses in the first post-mortem report:

Incomplete Musculoskeletal Exam: Multiple blunt force injuries were recorded on Twisha’s left arm and forearm, but there was allegedly no detailed dissection of musculoskeletal structures to determine the depth and severity of injuries.

Missing Neck X-ray: Despite the presence of a ligature mark on the neck, no X-ray examination of the neck or cervical spine was conducted.

Questionable Viscera Preservation: Concerns were additionally raised over the preservation of viscera for toxicological analysis despite reportedly no significant findings in stomach contents, leading to allegations that the final opinion may have been deferred.

Inconsistent Findings: The pathology report contradicts the scene, with findings far more consistent with manual strangulation or suffocation rather than hanging.

Height Discrepancy: A glaring error in the report- recording the victim's height as 166 cm when she was actually 176 cm- calls the entire documentation into question.

Undated Injuries: The medical team failed to determine the age of various blunt force injuries found on the body, leaving a timeline of violence missing.

Unexplained Nail Scrapings: While DNA was collected from nail scrapings, the autopsy report offers no documentation or justification for the collection process.

Inadequate Autopsy Team: In direct violation of established medical guidelines, no female doctor was present during the post-mortem of a female victim.

Suspect Absconded: The investigation failed to account for potential injuries or drug influence on the suspect, who has since fled.

Missing Ligature Material: The material used in the alleged hanging was never secured, making it impossible to correlate the object with the injuries sustained.

Mother-In-Law Accused Of Judicial Cover-Up

Twisha Sharma's family has accused her mother-in-law Giri Bala Singh of “judicial cover-up”, claiming that she made frantic phone calls to several judges and influential figures shortly after Twisha’s death. Notably, Giri Bala is a former judge.

According to Twisha's family, Singh made over 40 phone calls to judges, ministry-linked individuals and influential figures shortly after Twisha’s death in Bhopal. Twisha’s father released a list of purported mobile numbers contacted by Giri Bala.

Calls logs accessed by Republic TV revealed that she allegedly dialled a district judge nine times in one day, and also contacted CCTV operators and an IPS officer in the Lokayukta.

She also called her son, Samarth Singh, three times after he fled.

Advocate Ankur Pandey said, “Giri Bala called so many influential people after Twisha’s death, but did not make a single call to the victim's family.”

Twisha's family has alleged that her connections with influential people may have impacted the course of the investigation.