CBI arrests mother-in-law Giribala Singh in Twisha Sharma death case

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday arrested former judge Giribala Singh, mother-in-law of late actor-model Twisha Sharma, a day after the Madhya Pradesh High court quashed the anticipatory bail granted to her by the trial court.

Giribala was arrested by the probe agency after hours of questioning at her Bhopal residence. The CBI on Monday took over the probe into the death of Twisha, who was allegedly found hanging at her marital home here on May 12.

The High Court order, uploaded during the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday, set aside the anticipatory bail order passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Bhopal, on May 15.

Justice Devanarayan Mishra, while allowing the petitions, observed that the case was still at an initial stage and custodial interrogation of Giribala could be required. The court noted that there was a “mystery revolving around the death of the deceased, possible involvement of the influential accused and non-cooperation shown during the ongoing investigation.”

The High Court held that the trial court failed to consider crucial aspects of the case while granting relief to Giribala. According to the order, investigators had issued several notices to the former judge seeking her cooperation in the probe, but she allegedly failed to cooperate with the investigating agency.

The court further observed that statements recorded from Twisha Sharma’s mother and other relatives contained allegations of harassment by Giribala and Samarth Singh, husband of the late actor-model, including pressure on the deceased to abort her pregnancy.

The High Court also took note of WhatsApp chats collected during the investigation, observing that the allegations were not confined only to Samarth Singh.

Meanwhile, a Bhopal court on Wednesday remanded Samarth in the custody of the CBI following which the agency took the accused to his home as part of its probe.