BHOPAL: Former judge Giribala Singh and her son Samarth Singh, both accused in the alleged dowry death of Samarth's model-actor wife Twisha Sharma on May 12, will remain in Bhopal Central Jail for at least two more weeks.
A Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) court in Bhopal on Tuesday extended the mother-son duo's judicial custody by 14 days while accepting the CBI's plea to continue their detention to facilitate the collection of voice samples as part of the investigation.
The CBI told the JMFC court that the two accused were not fully cooperating in providing their voice samples despite clear court orders.
The agency's counsel submitted that Samarth refused to provide his voice sample, saying the script he had been asked to read was "self-incriminating".
It further alleged that Giribala Singh did not fully cooperate, as she did not read all the scripts provided for recording her voice.
The voice samples are to be matched with audio recordings that form key evidence in the prosecution's case.
The CBI informed the court that the voice samples were crucial to the ongoing investigation and that the accused's refusal had impeded an important stage of the probe.
The agency further submitted that reports from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) were still awaited and statements of several material witnesses were yet to be recorded, necessitating an extension of the accused's judicial custody.
Taking note of the CBI's submissions, the JMFC observed that the investigation remained incomplete. Considering the pending forensic reports, the remaining witness statements and the accused's refusal to provide voice samples, the court extended their judicial custody till July 28.
The accused's senior counsel, Enosh George Carlo, however, told the court that his clients were cooperating with the CBI and would continue to do so.
"Recently, when the CBI team went to get voice samples of my client, it continued the process for around 5-6 hours. As my elderly client Giribala Singh isn't well, she could read only some of the multiple scripts which the CBI team wanted her to read for recording her voice," the accused's counsel told TNIE on Tuesday.
"Samarth, who had initially declined to read the script, was ready to read it later. But despite being informed about it by me, the CBI team didn't visit the Bhopal Central Jail for recording the voice samples of the duo. So, the charge that my clients are not cooperating with the investigators isn't correct," the counsel added.
In a related development, the court allowed an application filed by the CBI under Section 349 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) seeking permission to obtain the accused's voice samples in accordance with law, counsel for Twisha's family Ankur Pandey said.
Meanwhile, the court noted that despite notices being issued by the Magistrate Court, no advocate had appeared on behalf of AIIMS, New Delhi. The absence of representation by the institution was recorded during the proceedings.
The investigation is expected to continue as the CBI awaits the CFSL reports and proceeds with recording the statements of the remaining key witnesses.
On the night of May 12, 33-year-old actor-model Twisha Sharma was allegedly found dead on the terrace of her matrimonial home, owned by her mother-in-law Giribala in Bhopal's Bagmugliya area.
The alleged dowry death and harassment case, which triggered national outrage, was initially investigated by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Bhopal Police before being handed over to the CBI on May 25 on the recommendation of the Madhya Pradesh government.
