Twisha Death Mystery Deepens: Missing Signatures of Giribala and Samarth On Seized Ligature Belt Memo Trigger Fresh Questions

New Delhi: Fresh questions have emerged in the Twisha Sharma death case after documents related to the seizure of crucial evidence revealed alleged procedural lapses in the initial investigation, casting renewed scrutiny on the suicide theory and the handling of evidence by police officials.

At the centre of the controversy is the seizure memo of the alleged ligature belt - a key piece of evidence that forms the basis of the hanging theory. 

Documents filed before court show that while other seizure memos in the case carry the signatures of accused former judge Giribala Singh and her son Samarth Singh, the memo relating to the seizure of the belt does not contain their signatures. 

The absence of the accused persons' signatures on a document linked to the most crucial piece of physical evidence has raised questions about the chain of custody and recovery process.

The seizure memo indicates that the belt, along with a laptop and mobile phone, was seized by Sub-Inspector Dinesh Sharma at 9:42 am on May 13. However, unlike subsequent seizures carried out on the identification, or "nishandehi", of Giribala Singh and Samarth Singh, the document does not mention who identified the alleged ligature to investigators.

This has shifted attention to SI Dinesh Sharma, the officer who conducted the first seizure. Questions are now being raised about how he identified and seized the alleged ligature material when neither of the accused appears to have been made a party to that seizure process. 

Court filings have argued that the omission is unusual given that Giribala and Samarth were allegedly the last people known to have seen Twisha alive before she was found hanging.

The controversy has been compounded by claims that the forensic examination of the ligature may not have taken place when initially claimed. ACP Kashyap, who headed the SIT, had maintained that the FSL team examined the ligature. 

Fresh allegations, however, suggest that no such examination was carried out on May 13, raising further doubts about the timeline of forensic scrutiny.

The belt itself has been a subject of controversy from the beginning of the investigation. Earlier, it emerged that the alleged ligature was not supplied to doctors at AIIMS Bhopal during the first post-mortem examination, preventing forensic experts from scientifically matching the strap with the ligature marks found on Twisha's neck. 

The omission triggered criticism of the initial investigation and later became one of the reasons cited by those questioning the suicide narrative.

Adding to the concerns is the timeline of evidence collection. Records show that while police were informed about the death shortly after midnight on May 13, the first seizure of the belt, laptop and phone took place nearly ten hours later. 

A Sony headphone allegedly visible at the crime scene was recovered only ten days afterwards, prompting questions about whether the crime scene had been properly secured and preserved.

The seizure documents also point to an alleged discrepancy involving the dimensions of the seized ligature and observations recorded in the post-mortem report. 

Questions have additionally been raised over why the accused had access to a seizure memo that, according to court filings, did not bear their names and formed part of the investigation records.

The Central Bureau of Investigation, which has taken over the probe, is continuing its examination of the circumstances surrounding Twisha's death. 

The agency has already recreated the crime scene using an 80-kg dummy, examined forensic evidence and sought to verify the sequence of events described by Giribala Singh and Samarth Singh.

With fresh questions now emerging over the seizure of the belt, the role of SI Dinesh Sharma and the handling of critical evidence, the focus has once again shifted to whether crucial lapses during the initial investigation may have affected the course of the probe. 

The allegations remain part of ongoing proceedings and have not yet been adjudicated by any court.

The jail administration has removed Deputy Jailor Jaya Yadav from her post following allegations that special privileges were being extended to former judge Giribala Singh and her son Samarth Singh, the accused in the high-profile Twisha Sharma death case. 

The action comes days after relentless campaign and expose by the Republic TV claiming that the two accused were receiving VIP treatment inside Bhopal Central Jail.

According to the latest developments, the removal of the deputy jailor was ordered after jail authorities initiated an inquiry into the allegations.

Sources said the administration acted after reports suggested that Giribala and Samarth were being given facilities not ordinarily available to undertrial prisoners.

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