Twisha Sharma’s husband sent to 7-day police remand; AIIMS Delhi forms panel for second autopsy

Samarth Singh, husband of actor-model Twisha Sharma who allegedly ended her life recently, was on Saturday (May 23, 2026) sent to seven days of police custody in Bhopal, a day after he was arrested in connection with a dowry death and harassment case, police said.

Meanwhile, AIIMS Delhi formed a four-member panel to perform a second autopsy on Sharma’s body, a day after the Madhya Pradesh High Court directed the medical institution to conduct it following a petition from the victim’s family. As per news agency PTI, the panel comprising four senior doctors is travelling to Bhopal on Saturday (May 23) evening.

Bhopal Police Commissioner Sanjay Kumar said the autopsy will be performed at AIIMS Bhopal after the expert team arrives from New Delhi.

On the run for over a week, Mr. Singh was taken into custody on Friday (May 22) after he failed to surrender before a court in Jabalpur and was produced before before Judicial Magistrate First Class Anudita Gupta after being brought to Bhopal in the early hours of Saturday (May 23).

Advocate Ankur Pandey, who is representing Sharma’s family, said that Mr. Singh’s lawyer also submitted the accused person’s passport before the court.

Bhopal (Zone 2) Deputy Commissioner of Police Vikas Sehwal told The Hindu that during the remand period, the SIT probing the case will recreate the scene of crime along with seizing substantial evidence from him and interrogating him on various aspects.

“His mother, Giribala Singh [a retired judge and another accused in the case] has also agreed to come for interrogation. So, we will also question her either today or tomorrow,” he said, adding that everyone related to the woman’s death will be questioned and their roles looked into.

Notices issued

Mr. Kumar had on Friday (May 22) said that the probe team had issued three notices to Ms. Singh to appear for questioning but she did not answer them after which the police had challenged her anticipatory bail before the High Court. However, Ms. Singh claimed that she had only received one notice through WhatsApp when she was on her way to Jabalpur.

“I didn’t receive any [notice]. I had only received a message on WhatsApp yesterday [Thursday] but I had left by then so I immediately messaged them that I am coming,” she told media persons on Friday (May 22).

Mr. Kumar, however, maintained on Saturday (May 23) that she had been served three notices.

“If she’s denying that, it’s a different thing but we have sent notices. There is no anomaly. She is an accused and we have served three notices, and we are trying to question her as soon as possible,” he said, addressing the media.

Mr. Kumar also said that Mr. Singh will be interrogated in detail and if the police learns that someone had sheltered him, action will be taken against them too.

The Commissioner also said that the Jabalpur court, where Mr. Singh had gone, had refused to accept his surrender. “Our team was already there so they, with the help of Jabalpur Police, took him into custody,” he said.

Sharma, 33, a model and actor, was found dead at her marital home in Bhopal on the night of May 12, just five months into the marriage with Mr. Singh, a lawyer. An FIR was registered against him and his mother on May 15, based on allegations from Sharma’s family that she had faced mental harassment and dowry demands.

‘Need CBI probe’

Meanwhile, Sharma’s family and lawyers maintained their suspicions about the fairness of the probe by Bhopal Police and demanded that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) take over the case soon. The Madhya Pradesh government had recommended the case to the Central agency on Friday (May 22).

Major Harshit Sharma, the victim’s brother, said: “We are hopeful that the CBI intervenes within this seven-day period and takes over the investigation.”

The family has consistently alleged that the accused family has been using its influence in the city to weaken the investigation and that the police had misbehaved with them. It earlier alleged that Ms. Singh had spoken over the phone to more than 40 influential people, including senior IAS, IPS and judicial officers in the days following Sharma’s death.

Mr. Pandey, the advocate for Sharma’s family, claimed that the M.P. Police did not take the case seriously since the beginning and that there were various lapses as it “worked under influence”.

“This shows that the M.P. government also acknowledged the shortcomings we raised and gave its consent for a CBI probe. The family had released some [phone] numbers and one of them belonged to the Katara Hills police station in-charge [Sunil Kumar Dubey]. He is currently part of the SIT. We are writing to the Commissioner and the SIT head that he should be removed from the probe team immediately,” he told a news agency.

Bhopal Commissioner Mr. Kumar, however, denied the charges saying that there were “no lapses” and that the police had conducted “an impartial probe”.

“Nobody was misbehaved with. There are CCTV cameras in the police station too. There is no such thing,” he said.

Advocate Anurag Shrivastava, another lawyer representing Sharma’s family, raised suspicion about the destruction of evidence against Mr. Singh at his house and implanting contraband substances in the victim’s room as the accused mother-in-law has continued to live in the house for over 10 days.

“Police remand has been given but it’s very late. He was free for 10 days. And unfortunately, no such condition was put on Giribala Singh when she was granted the anticipatory bail that she can not live in that house. She has been enjoying that house since the beginning and she had the opportunity to destroy any probable evidences against Samarth and her,” he said. 

“And they have been continuously alleging on social media that Twisha used to take drugs. So, if any such thing is kept in her room, cupboard, bags or on her bed to prove this point and something is found there, people should take note that these people have had 10-12 days in that house. Even today, she is living in that house. That house should have been locked at least the day the FIR was filed,” Mr. Shrivastava said, speaking to reporters.