Mother-in-law arrested in high-profile Twisha's dowry death case

In a significant development in the high-profile dowry death case, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday arrested former district judge Giribala Singh from her Bhopal residence in connection with the alleged suicide of her daughter-in-law, Twisha Sharma.

A CBI team, backed by a heavy police force, reached Singh’s residence in the Katara Hills area early in the day. Local police barricaded the entire locality and restricted public movement during the arrest proceedings.

The CBI team reached Giribala Singh’s residence at around 10.30 a.m. and questioned her for over five hours.

The agency is set to take Giribala Singh to a hospital for a medical examination shortly. Amit Soni, the Station House Officer (SHO) of Bag Sevania police station, who was present at the scene, said Giribala Singh would be produced before the court later on Thursday.

Madhya Pradesh High Court cancels bail of former judge Giribala Singh.

The arrest came a day after the Madhya Pradesh High Court cancelled the anticipatory bail granted to Giribala Singh. Twisha Sharma was found dead at her matrimonial home on May 12, five months after her marriage to Singh’s son, Samarth Singh, on December 9, 2025.

Giribala Singh had approached a Bhopal sessions court seeking pre-arrest bail two days after the incident. The 10th Additional Sessions Judge, Bhopal, granted her bail on May 15, citing her age and money transfers to the deceased.

However, in a 17-page order passed on Wednesday, vacation judge Devnarayan Mishra quashed the bail, observing that the trial court had failed to properly examine crucial material facts. The High Court noted that WhatsApp chats and statements by Twisha’s family indicated that the allegations were not limited only to her husband, Samarth Singh.

“From the WhatsApp chats also, it cannot be said that the allegations are only against Samarth Singh,” the court observed.

The court said several important aspects had been overlooked while granting relief to Giribala Singh.

It further observed that the allegations required deeper scrutiny under Sections 80(2), 85 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act.

Twisha's family alleged that both Giribala Singh and her son harassed Twisha and pressured her to terminate her pregnancy. The court noted that it was an admitted fact that Twisha had terminated her pregnancy.

While the postmortem report stated that the cause of death was ante-mortem hanging by ligature, the High Court noted six to seven additional injuries on Twisha’s body, including injuries on her left arm, finger and head.

A subsequent query report clarified that these injuries were not caused while removing the body from the ligature or during transportation to hospital.

Counsel for Twisha’s father argued that Giribala Singh, a retired judicial officer trained in cyber forensics and crime scene management, might have used her expertise to tamper with the crime scene.

Indo-Asian News Service