The suspicious death of 33-year-old model and actress Twisha Sharma has taken a critical turn as a Bhopal court has rejected the anticipatory bail plea of her absconding lawyer-husband, Samarth Singh.
Following the court’s decision on Monday (May 18, 2026), the Bhopal Police officially announced a cash reward of ₹10,000 for any information leading to his arrest.
The court earlier granted anticipatory bail to Samarth’s mother, retired judge Giribala Singh, who is also an accused in the case.
Twisha was found hanging at her marital home in Bhopal’s Katara Hills area on May 12, just months after her December 2025 marriage to Samarth, whom she met on a dating app in 2024.
While a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probes the case, her family alleges she was systematically tortured and murdered over dowry, charges denied by Ms. Singh.
Misrod Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Rajneesh Kashyap, who is heading the SIT, said efforts were underway to trace Samarth.
During the tense courtroom hearing, Samarth’s counsel opposed arrest by raising questions about Twisha’s mental health, a statement that was strongly countered by the deceased woman’s family lawyer.
He cited severe risks of evidence tampering.
After hearing arguments, Sessions Court Judge Pallavi Dwivedi turned down the pre-arrest bail application of Samarth.
While the court had previously granted anticipatory bail to Twisha’s mother-in-law, Ms. Singh, it flatly denied similar relief to Samarth.
Reacting to the development, the woman’s grief-stricken father, Navnidhi Sharma, told PTI Videos that the rejection was only a partial step towards justice and the actual victory would only come when both are punished, demanding the immediate arrest of both the husband and the retired judge.
“Rejection of the anticipatory bail plea was not our victory. Our victory will be when both are punished,” he said.
He expressed deep fears that the influential family would use money and power to secure relief from the Madhya Pradesh High Court if they were not locked up immediately.
The legal battle intensified on Monday (May 18, 2026) as the contents of Samarth’s bail plea surfaced on social media, claiming Twisha was a psychiatric patient and drug addict whose hands and feet would tremble without access to narcotics.
To counter the dowry allegations, the retired judge attached online transaction slips ranging from ₹5,000 to ₹50,000, claiming they regularly provided for Twisha’s needs.
However, Twisha’s family has fiercely rubbished these allegations, presenting a different timeline of events and describing Twisha as a jolly and happening girl who drastically changed after marriage, losing 15 kilograms due to relentless mental torture.
Her cousin, Meenakshi, spoke to various media houses alleging that the harassment peaked when Twisha lost her work-from-home job and became pregnant, and her husband refused to acknowledge the child.
The local investigation has already come under severe scrutiny as ACP Kashyap confirmed that while the preliminary AIIMS Bhopal post-mortem points to a “hanging suicide, the family claims multiple injury marks on her body indicate murder”.
In an admission of a lapse in the local probe, Kashyap confirmed that the investigation officer failed to send the rope allegedly used in the hanging to AIIMS during the autopsy and said that action would be taken against the erring officer.
He made it clear that the SIT is strictly probing the case based on the dowry and abetment sections in the FIR, regardless of the husband’s claims.
“In the bail petition, allegations regarding Twisha being a drug addict have been mentioned, but we are strictly investigating the case according to the sections mentioned in the FIR,” Kashyap told PTI.
The plea also claimed she had been undergoing psychiatric treatment and mental health counselling.
Addressing a press conference after the court ruling, Ms. Singh claimed Twisha suffered from psychological illness and depression.
She said Twisha’s death was like a “nightmare” for the family as she was part of it.
The retired judge alleged Twisha’s family pushed her into the glamour world at a very young age and claimed she remained under mental pressure because of it.
Ms. Singh also claimed Twisha’s family did not visit her in the last five months and were now not allowing her last rites to be performed.
She expressed full faith in the ongoing police probe and the judiciary.
The bail plea also claimed Twisha travelled to Delhi by flight on April 17 and remained untraceable for around 12 hours before reaching her parents’ house the next day.
It further alleged her behaviour towards her in-laws changed after she became pregnant and claimed her husband had taken her to a beauty salon on the day of the incident.
According to the plea, Twisha had also suffered a miscarriage.
However, Twisha’s family described her as a cheerful and lively woman whose behaviour changed after marriage.
Officials said the SIT would investigate allegations related to dowry harassment, physical assault and alleged attempts to destroy evidence after her death.
On Sunday (May 17, 2026), Twisha’s family staged a major protest outside Chief Minister Mohan Yadav’s residence in Bhopal.
Pointing out that Twisha’s body has been kept in a Bhopal mortuary for five days, her father demanded that the compromised local probe be halted and a fresh, independent post-mortem be conducted at AIIMS Delhi.
Published – May 19, 2026 09:29 am IST
