Twisha case: Samarth Singh, mother sent to judicial custody till 28 July

A local court in Bhopal on Tuesday extended the judicial custody of Samarth Singh and his mother Giribala Singh till 28 July in connection with the death case of former model-turned-actor Twisha Sharma. The extension came after the CBI alleged that the accused were not cooperating with the collection of their voice samples, which investigators said were crucial to the probe.

The mother-son duo appeared before the Bhopal District and Sessions Court through video conference during the hearing. After hearing arguments from both sides, the court granted the CBI’s request to extend their custody by 14 days.

Twisha Sharma was found dead at her in-laws’ residence in Bhopal on 12 May. Her husband, Samarth Singh, and mother-in-law, Giribala Singh, a former district judge, were later arrested on allegations of dowry harassment, mental cruelty and domestic violence.

According to the CBI, both accused had earlier expressed willingness to provide voice samples, but allegedly did not cooperate when the agency’s team visited the jail on 6 July for the collection process.

Ankur Pandey, lawyer for Twisha’s family, said the CBI informed the court that the investigation was being affected due to the delay in obtaining the samples. He claimed that despite court directions, Giribala and Samarth refused to provide the required samples.

Pandey said Giribala had provided a sample once but allegedly declined when the CBI team returned for another collection. He added that Samarth also refused to provide his voice sample.

However, lawyer Enosh George Carlo, representing Giribala and Samarth, denied the allegations. He said his clients had never refused to cooperate with the investigation.

Carlo said Giribala, despite health issues, had provided voice samples twice and could not do so on the third occasion due to medical reasons. He added that she had requested the CBI team to collect the sample the following day. He also maintained that Samarth was cooperating with the probe and that his only objection was related to the procedure being followed for collecting the sample.

The court, after considering submissions from both the CBI and the defence, allowed the extension of judicial custody until 28 July.

With PTI inputs