AIIMS medical board concludes Twisha Sharma died by suicide

Twisha Sharma died from asphyxia caused by hanging and there was no forensic evidence of an assault before her death, according to the final opinion of an AIIMS medical board constituted on the directions of the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

The five-member board submitted its 11-page report to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in a sealed cover on 10 July. The medical findings became a key part of the agency’s investigation before it filed a chargesheet in a special court in Bhopal on Monday.

The CBI has charged Sharma’s husband, Samarth Singh, and mother-in-law, Giribala Singh, a retired district judge, with subjecting her to sustained mental cruelty during the six months of her marriage. The agency has invoked provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita concerning cruelty by a husband or his relatives, abetment to suicide and acts committed with common intention.

The 31-page chargesheet, supported by annexures running into hundreds of pages, details the alleged psychological abuse that investigators believe drove the former actor and model to take her own life.

Sharma, who had married Samarth in December, was found hanging at her matrimonial home in Bhopal on 12 May. According to the FIR, Samarth took her to AIIMS Bhopal and told doctors that she had hanged herself at around 10.20 pm. Hospital authorities declared her dead on arrival and informed the police, following which a medico-legal case was registered.

Questions raised by Sharma’s family about the initial autopsy prompted the Madhya Pradesh High Court to order a second postmortem. A four-member team from AIIMS Delhi conducted the examination in Bhopal on 24 May and also inspected the scene as part of its forensic assessment.

The second postmortem and the subsequent opinion of the AIIMS Delhi medical board agreed that the death was suicidal in nature. The board determined that the cause was asphyxia resulting from ante-mortem hanging involving a gymnastic belt fitted with a metal ring.

It found no injuries of medico-legal significance that could indicate an assault or struggle before Sharma’s death.

Dr Sudhir Gupta, Head of the Department of Forensic Medicine at AIIMS, said the panel examined the case from multiple angles and reviewed relevant national and international medical literature before reaching its conclusion.

He said the board had provided the CBI and the judiciary with a scientifically supported opinion that Sharma died by suicide and showed no signs of physical assault. It also examined questions surrounding the ligature material allegedly used in the hanging, which had been a significant point of dispute during the investigation.

The CBI took over the case after the initial police inquiry and the court-ordered second autopsy. Samarth and Giribala were subsequently arrested. A copy of the medical board’s compliance report was also forwarded to the Registrar General of the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

With PTI inputs