BHOPAL: An ongoing CBI probe into the May 12 death of actor-model Twisha Sharma at her matrimonial home in Bhopal has found that her husband, Samarth Singh, and former judge mother-in-law, Giribala Singh, allegedly subjected her to sustained mental cruelty, leaving her with no choice but to end her life, the agency said in its first charge sheet filed before a Bhopal court on Monday.
The CBI filed an around 650-page charge sheet/final report before the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC), charging the mother-son duo with subjecting Twisha to physical or mental cruelty and abetting her suicide. Both accused have been in judicial custody since June 2.
"Accordingly, due to continuous mental cruelty; on May 12 night, 34-year-old Twisha committed suicide by hanging herself with the help of a gymnastic belt-strap attached with an iron bar at the tin shed on the terrace of her matrimonial house," the CBI submitted before the court.
The agency said its investigation had established that Giribala and Samarth had committed offences punishable under Sections 85, 108 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Section 85 deals with a wife being subjected to physical or mental cruelty by her husband or his relative, Section 108 with abetment of suicide, and Section 3(5) with acts committed by several persons in furtherance of a common intention.
The CBI said its further investigation would examine allegations relating to dowry demand and dowry death.
It also said data extracted from Twisha's iPhone could reveal incriminating material, including the possible involvement of other accused or new witnesses. The extraction report is awaited.
The agency said data from a digital video recorder (DVR) installed at the accused's house had been sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL), Directorate of Forensic Science Services (DFSS), New Delhi, for examination. The CBI said the report would also help determine whether there had been any tampering with the data.
The CBI also referred to the findings of two autopsies conducted on Twisha's body — the first by a team of doctors at AIIMS-Bhopal on May 13 and the second by a medical board from AIIMS-Delhi in Bhopal on May 24, following an order of the Madhya Pradesh government.
Both reports concluded that the cause of death was ante-mortem hanging by ligature.
"According to the second report, the cause of death in this case is asphyxia as a result of ante-mortem hanging, which is suicidal in manner produced by the examined ligature material, the gymnastic belt with a ring," the CBI said.
It added that no other medico-legal injury was found on Twisha's body that could suggest an assault or scuffle before her death.
The CBI said its forensic psychological assessment and behavioural analysis of Twisha, based on her diaries, CCTV footage from May 12 and other material, indicated that she had been undergoing mental cruelty characterised by "hopelessness, sustained psychological harm and the absence of support".
According to the CBI investigation, Twisha sent her sister-in-law Rashi Abrol a message at around 9.36 pm on May 12, shortly before her death.
"Ask him (Samarth) to collect the left over of his wife. But tomorrow. Let me die in peace right now," she wrote, according to the CBI.
The agency said Twisha had spoken to Rashi on the phone before sending the message and told her that she had asked Samarth to sleep in the bedroom because she was suffering from back pain. According to the CBI, Twisha said Samarth became aggressive and violent towards her.
Twisha made her last phone call to her mother, Rekha Rani Sharma, at around 10.05 pm, the agency said. During the call, Twisha, who was crying, told her mother that Samarth had become aggressive and violent towards her, according to the CBI.
The investigation also found that Divya Singh, the former wife of Samarth's elder brother Siddharth Singh, had allegedly been subjected to mental cruelty after marriage over not having a child and not having a job, the CBI said.
Divya is now separated from Siddharth, according to the investigation.
The CBI said Twisha had told her sister-in-law on May 7 that Giribala had called her a "murderer" three times and was angry with her over an abortion.
According to the CBI, Samarth had then told Giribala: "Pahli Wali ko bhi apne banjh kah kar bhaga diya" (You even drove the first one away, calling her barren).
Twisha, 34, who had been crowned Miss Pune, was found hanging from the terrace of her matrimonial home in Bhopal on the night of May 12.
Two days later, Katara Hills police in Bhopal registered a case against Samarth and Giribala under Sections 80(2), 85, 108 and 3(5) of the BNS, dealing with dowry death, physical or mental cruelty by a husband or his relative, abetment of suicide and acts committed with common intention. They were also booked under Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961.
Twisha's parents, dissatisfied with the police Special Investigation Team's probe, had urged the state government to recommend a CBI investigation. Following the state government's recommendation, the case was handed over to the CBI, which took over the investigation on May 25.
Both Samarth Singh and Giribala Singh have been in judicial custody at Bhopal Central Jail since June 2.