BHOPAL: The case related to the death of 33-year-old Twisha Sharma took another turn on Monday after Bhopal Police announced a reward of Rs 10,000 for information leading to the arrest of her absconding husband, lawyer Samarth Singh, who is accused in the dowry death and harassment case.
Samarth Singh, son of retired Bhopal district and sessions court judge Giribala Singh, has been on the run since the case was registered at Katara Hills police station following Twisha’s death on May 12.
Twisha, an MBA graduate, former Miss Pune, Telugu film actor and model, had met Samarth through a dating app in 2024 and married him in December 2025 after approval from both families.
She was found hanging at her marital home in Bhopal’s Katara Hills area and was rushed to hospital by Samarth and neighbours, but was declared dead on arrival.
While Giribala Singh has claimed that Twisha died by suicide, her family from Noida has alleged that she was murdered over dowry harassment.
Police said the preliminary post-mortem report from AIIMS Bhopal indicated death due to “antemortem hanging by ligature”. The autopsy report also noted “multiple antemortem injuries (simple in nature, possible by blunt force) over other parts of the body”.
A senior Bhopal Police official said multiple teams had been formed to trace Samarth Singh and that the process of issuing a lookout circular against him had also been initiated. A six-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) is probing allegations of dowry harassment, physical assault and attempts to destroy evidence.
Misrod ACP Rajneesh Kashyap, who heads the SIT, said, “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 in the FIR.”
A local court, which earlier granted anticipatory bail to Giribala Singh, rejected Samarth Singh’s anticipatory bail plea on Monday.
The case also drew attention after details from the bail plea filed on behalf of Samarth surfaced online, alleging that Twisha was “a drug addict undergoing psychiatric treatment”.
Addressing a press conference on Monday, Giribala Singh alleged that Twisha had informed Samarth over the phone that she had taken a Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) pill while he was attending court proceedings.
“The first child is very important for any family, but she never allowed us even a moment of happiness. Samarth was in court when Twisha called him and told him that she had taken MTP pills. She took the pills on May 7,” she said.
The plea further alleged that Twisha was addicted to drugs, became irritable without narcotic substances, was undergoing psychiatric treatment and counselling, and that she had suffered a miscarriage.
“She herself had admitted to consuming marijuana in large quantities. She repeatedly insisted that she did not want a child. Twisha was undergoing treatment under Dr Satyakant Trivedi. Medicines had been prescribed to her, but she did not take them,” Giribala Singh claimed.
Denying allegations of dowry harassment, she said Twisha was regularly given money online for her needs and that transaction receipts ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 50,000 had been submitted in court.
“Twisha had first visited our home herself. Later, her parents came. There were significant differences between our families, but we still agreed to the marriage,” she said.
Responding to allegations of influence, Giribala Singh said, “Even an ordinary person would have got bail in such circumstances. My son would also get bail.”
She also claimed Samarth Singh was “running barefoot in AIIMS” and crying after seeing Twisha’s condition and denied allegations that he consumed drugs.
“Twisha’s father had accused my son of consuming drugs, but that was false. Later, her father apologised to me. He does not take drugs,” she said.
Twisha’s family has demanded a second post-mortem at AIIMS Delhi and a CBI probe into the case. On Sunday, her relatives protested outside Chief Minister Mohan Yadav’s residence in Bhopal, while similar protests were held at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on Monday.
Her father, Navnidhi Sharma, alleged that the local investigation was compromised and said the family would not perform her last rites until their demands were met.
According to relatives, Twisha wanted to leave Bhopal and return to Noida and had remained in touch with them until around 10 pm on the day of the incident.
