Giribala Singh, retired judge and mother-in-law of Twisha Sharma speaks to the media, in Bhopal. File
| Photo Credit: PTI
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday (August 17, 2026) filed a chargesheet against former Bhopal judge Giribala Singh and her son Samarth Singh in connection with the death of former model Twisha Sharma. The CBI accused the mother-son duo of abetment of suicide, mental cruelty, common intent, and demanding dowry. Twisha was married to Samarth.
In the over 650-page chargesheet, the CBI has levelled charges against the two under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Sections 80(2), 85, 108 and 3(5), and Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act. The CBI said that while Ms. Giribala “used to instigate Samarth with common intention from time to time to cause mental cruelty”, he resorted to character assassination and abused Twisha several times with derogatory words over her past relationships.
“Investigation revealed that both the accused persons had caused mental cruelty to the deceased to such an extent that the deceased was not left with any choice except to end her life,” read the chargesheet filed before the special court of Judge Shobhana Bhalavi in Bhopal.
Twisha, 34, a former model and an MBA graduate, was found dead under suspicious circumstances at her marital home in Bhopal’s Katara Hills area on the night of May 12, just five months after marrying Mr. Samarth, a lawyer, on December 9, 2025. Her family accused her husband and mother-in-law of mental harassment, physical abuse and dowry demands.
Twisha was “continuously subjected to mental cruelty by both the accused” after she refused to transfer her investment worth about ₹20 lakh to a joint account with her husband, the chargesheet said. The accused also harassed and taunted Twisha after she lost her job.
“The deceased informed her parents that she found that she is all the time under surveillance by both the accused persons at her matrimonial home,” the CBI said.
The two accused are in judicial custody and are currently lodged in Bhopal jail.
Following the family’s allegations of institutional bias against the Bhopal Police, the case was handed over to the CBI. The Madhya Pradesh High Court also ordered a second post-mortem by a medical board of AIIMS, Delhi, after the family raised objections at the autopsy examination conducted at AIIMS, Bhopal.
Advocate Ankur Pandey, representing Twisha’s family, told The Hindu that the CBI has sought time from the court to further probe three aspects – claims of dowry and witnesses, tampering with the DVR of CCTV cameras at the accused’s house, and evidence from Twisha’s phone as its extraction is awaited.
Mr. Pandey alleged that the reports of both post-mortem examinations were “extremely contradictory”.
“While the AIIMS Bhopal report had talked about six ante-mortem injuries on Twisha’s body, the AIIMS Delhi report refers to them as post-mortem injuries that may have been caused while taking the body down and to hospital,” he said.
He said that the victim’s family will analyse the chargesheet and the second post-mortem report before deciding if a protest petition will be filed.
(Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the State’s health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416. and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050)
Published – August 17, 2026 03:09 pm IST
