The Madhya Pradesh government on Friday proposed transferring the case related to the death of Noida woman Twisha Sharma, who was allegedly harassed for dowry, to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The development came two days after Chief Minister Mohan Yadav met Twisha’s father Navnidhi Sharma and her brother Harshit Sharma, an Army officer, and assured them that the state would recommend a CBI investigation into the high-profile case, which is currently being probed by a special investigation team (SIT).
In a notification, the state government said it "it proposes to transfer this (Twisha case) to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for a probe".
The notification has been issued by Home Department Secretary Krishnaveni Desavatu, an official said.
A case of dowry death, harassment and criminal conspiracy was registered at Bhopal’s Katara Hills police station on May 15, three days after Twisha was allegedly found hanging inside her matrimonial home late on May 12.
Twisha’s husband, advocate Samarth Singh, and her former judge mother-in-law Giribala Singh were named as accused in the case. The investigation is currently being conducted by an SIT headed by Assistant Commissioner of Police Rajneesh Kashyap.
While Giribala Singh has secured anticipatory bail from a Bhopal court, Samarth Singh remains absconding. He moved the Madhya Pradesh High Court in Jabalpur seeking anticipatory bail after a Bhopal court rejected his plea on May 18.
In another key development, the state government has approached the MP High Court seeking cancellation of Giribala Singh’s anticipatory bail and directions for her arrest in the dowry death case.
In its petition, the state government argued that the Bhopal trial court committed a “grave error” by overlooking material evidence while granting anticipatory bail to Giribala Singh on May 15, the same day the FIR was registered.
The government also alleged that Giribala Singh attempted to tamper with evidence and obstruct the investigation.
“She held a press conference on May 18, the day her son Samarth Singh’s anticipatory bail plea was rejected. During the investigation, police had seized CCTV footage from a part of her house on May 13. However, she had already retained CCTV footage in a strategic manner to tamper with prosecution evidence and leaked selected clips on social media,” the plea stated.
The government further told the High Court that Giribala Singh was not cooperating with investigators and had failed to appear for recording of statements despite receiving three police notices between May 13 and May 21.
The plea also stated that Giribala Singh, a retired judicial officer with more than 35 years of service, was aware that the incident should have been immediately reported to police.
“The police chowki at Laharpur under Katara Hills police station is only around 100 metres from her house, but she and her son chose to take Twisha to AIIMS Bhopal without informing police, leading to alleged tampering of the crime scene and other evidence,” the government submitted.
Meanwhile, Twisha's family filed a plea in the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Friday seeking a second post-mortem, citing flaws in the first one conducted by AIIMS Bhopal.
The family's appeal to the high court comes two days after a lower court turned down their plea.
Twisha was found dead on the night of May 12 at her marital home in Bhopal's Katara Hills area, prompting a dowry death and harassment case against her husband, advocate Samarth Singh, and mother-in-law, retired judge Giribala Singh.
The family of the 33-year-old model turned actor accused her in-laws of pushing their daughter to death.
Her in-laws claim she was addicted to drugs.
Police have announced a cash reward of Rs 30,000 for information leading to the arrest of Samarth Singh, who has been absconding since the incident.
Police registered an FIR under Sections 80(2), 85, and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita along with relevant sections of the Dowry Prohibition Act, naming Twisha's husband Samarth Singh and Giribala Singh.
Police have also announced a cash reward of Rs 30,000 for information leading to Samarth Singh's arrest and approached the court for revocation of his passport.
(With inputs from PTI)
