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

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

Meanwhile, AIIMS Delhi constituted a four-member panel to conduct the second post-mortem on Sharma’s body, a day after the Madhya Pradesh High Court directed the medical institution to conduct it on the request of the victim’s family. According to news agency PTI, a panel of four senior doctors will travel to Bhopal on Saturday (May 23) evening.

Bhopal Police Commissioner Sanjay Kumar said the post-mortem will be conducted at AIIMS Bhopal after a team of experts arrives from New Delhi.

On the run for more than 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 First Class Magistrate Anudita Gupta after being brought to Bhopal on Saturday (May 23).

Advocate Ankur Pandey, who is representing Sharma’s family, said Mr. Singh’s lawyer had also submitted the passport of the accused to the court.

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

“His mother Giribala Singh (retired judge and another accused in the case) has also agreed to appear for questioning. So we will also question her today or tomorrow,” he said, adding that all those connected with the woman’s death would be questioned and their roles probed.

Notices issued

Mr Kumar said on Friday (May 22) that the investigation team had sent three summonses to Ms Singh to appear for questioning, but she did not respond, following which the police challenged her anticipatory bail in the High Court. However, Ms. Singh claimed that she received only one notification through WhatsApp while she was on her way to Jabalpur.

“I didn’t get any (notification). I only got a message on WhatsApp yesterday (Thursday) but I had left by then, so I immediately messaged them that I’m coming,” she told the media on Friday (May 22).

However, Mr Kumar claimed on Saturday (May 23) that she had been served with three notices.

“If she denies it, that is another matter, but we have sent a notice. It is not an anomaly. She is an accused and we have filed three notices and we are trying to hear her as soon as possible,” he told the media.

Mr. Kumar also said that he will interrogate Mr. Singh in detail and if the police come to know that someone has harbored him, action will be taken against them as well.

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

Sharma, 33, a model and actress, was found dead at her matrimonial home in Bhopal on the night of May 12, just five months after marrying Mr Singh, a lawyer. An FIR was registered against him and his mother on May 15 on allegations by Sharma’s family that she faced mental harassment and dowry demands.

“I need a CBI probe”

Meanwhile, Sharma’s family and lawyers have maintained their doubts about the fairness of the investigation by the Bhopal police and demanded that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) take over the case soon. The Madhya Pradesh government referred the case to the central agency on Friday (May 22).

Major Harshit Sharma, the victim’s brother, said, “We hope that the CBI will step in and take over the investigation within this seven-day period.”

The family has consistently alleged that the accused family is using its influence in the city to undermine the investigation and that the police have misbehaved with them. She had earlier claimed that Ms Singh had spoken on phone to more than 40 influential people, including senior IAS, IPS and judicial officials in the days after Sharma’s death.

Mr Pandey, the lawyer for Sharma’s family, alleged that the MP police did not take the case seriously from the beginning and that various mistakes were made as he was “operating under the influence”.

“This shows that the MP government has also recognized the lapses that we have pointed out and has given consent for a CBI investigation. The family has released some (phone) numbers and one of them belonged to Katara Hills police station in-charge (Sunil Kumar Dubey). He is currently part of the SIT. We are writing to the commissioner and the head of the SIT that he should be removed from the intelligence team immediately,” he told the news team.

However, Bhopal Commissioner Mr Kumar rejected the allegations, saying there was “no wrongdoing” and that the police had conducted an “impartial investigation”.

“They have not misbehaved with anyone. There are also CCTV cameras at the police station. There is nothing like that,” he said.

Advocate Anurag Shrivastava, another lawyer representing Sharma’s family, raised suspicions of destruction of evidence against Mr. Singh at his house and implantation of contraband in the victim’s room as the accused mother-in-law continues to live in the house for more than 10 days.

“Police custody has been granted but it is very late. He was at large for 10 days. And unfortunately no such condition was imposed on Giribal Singh when she was granted anticipatory bail that she cannot live in that house. She enjoyed the house from the beginning and had the opportunity to destroy any likely evidence against Samarth and her,” he said.

“And they kept saying on social media that Twisha was on drugs. So if she has something like that in her room, in her closet, in her bags or on her bed to prove it, and something is found there, people should take note that these people spent 10-12 days in that house. She still lives in that house today. That house should have been locked at least the day Mr. Shriva spoke.

Published – 23 May 2026 18:04 IST