A retired judge was placed in handcuffs after her daughter-in-law was found lifeless, just five months after the victim was married to her son.
The tragic passing of actress and model Twisha Sharma, 33, in India has gained international attention in recent days.
Her lawyer husband, Samarth Singh, and her mother-in-law, Giribala Singh, were placed in custody and are expected to be kept for questioning till June 2.
Highlights
- Twisha Sharma, 33, was found hanging on the rooftop of her husband’s home earlier this month in India.
- Footage from the house on the day of her passing saw three men carrying her body from the rooftop downstairs.
- Twisha's lawyer husband, Samarth Singh, was arrested days after her passing.
- This week, Samarth's mother Giribala Singh was also taken into custody for questioning.
A retired judge was placed in handcuffs after her daughter-in-law was found lifeless
Image credits: The Con Artists/ NDTV
This article contains graphic details that may be distressing to some.
Giribala was arrested on May 28 in what investigators suspect is a harassment case, where she and her son allegedly tortured Twisha over issues related to dowry.
Dowry is when a bride’s family is expected to give money, gifts, or property to the groom’s family as part of a marriage.
Even though the practice was banned in India in 1961, it still continues in the country and can subject women to pressure and violence.
Image credits: The Con Artists/ NDTV
The explosive investigation began after the actress’s body was found hanging on the rooftop of her husband’s home in Bhopal, the capital city of Madhya Pradesh state, on May 12.
Footage from the house on the day of her passing showed three men carrying her body from the rooftop downstairs.
The victim tied the knot about five months before she was found hanging on the rooftop of her husband's home
Image credits: The Con Artists/ NDTV
Her passing triggered conflicting claims of whether she was k*lled or took her own life.
It was only five months before her passing when Twisha was happily dancing and laughing at her own wedding.
Image credits: ANI News
The beauty pageant winner and her lawyer husband, Samarth, met on a dating app and eventually decided to tie the knot in a typically loud, colorful Indian wedding.
But things took a turn right after the ceremony, when Twisha misread the flight timings for their honeymoon trip to Vietnam.
Footage from the day of her passing captured three men carrying Twisha's body downstairs
“They missed their flight. Samarth pushed Twisha at the airport, but she let it go,” her father Navnidhi Sharma told NDTV. “It was treated as though it were entirely her fault, and she, too, believed it was a one-time incident. But we were all wrong. The attitude only got worse with time.”
While Samarth would “change colors like a chameleon,” Navnidhi said the mother-in-law Giribala, a retired judge, also had an “attitude problem”.
Image credits: NDTV
Giribala “would speak in an intimidating manner, but we let it pass because she was a judge,” Navnidhi said.
“We assumed that perhaps the tone came from the profession she had been in,” he went on to say. “ … She was too heavy on us, she behaved like a dictator.”
Twisha messaged a friend about being “trapped” and warned the friend not to be trapped in a marriage herself
Image credits: TIMES NOW
In the months that followed the wedding, the parents noticed Twisha had lost weight and wasn’t her normal self.
She stopped maintaining contact with her friends but confided in one, warning them not to get trapped in a marriage.
“I am trapped bro,” she said in her message. “Bus tu mat phasna (just don’t get stuck).”
Image credits: NDTV
A family friend named Rashi Wadhwa said she met Twisha in March and noticed some changes in her behavior.
“We met her in March at her brother’s wedding,” she alleged. “She did not mention being in trouble, but her husband was always around her. She did not look like herself. She had become unreachable and distant from all of us.”
A family friend said Twisha didn't seem like herself when they met at a wedding in March
Before her passing, Twisha's father recalled how she told them, “I am stuck.”
“That evening, she spoke to us and sounded distressed. We told her we would bring her back home,” said the bereaved father.
“But suddenly, we heard Samarth's voice in the background, and the call got disconnected. The next thing we heard was that she had been found de*d.”
Image credits: Ghar Ke Kalesh
Prior to her arrest, Giribala spoke to reporters and claimed her daughter-in-law was addicted to illicit substances.
She alleged that her parents pushed her into the world of glamor when she was young, with her father pressuring her and giving her medication to make her lose weight and maintain her figure.
Giribala claimed her father pressured her to be in the glamor industry and forced her to take weight-loss pills
Image credits: Indira National School
The mother-in-law further alleged that Twisha had mar*juana during her pregnancy and claimed the abortion was her own decision.
However, Twisha’s parents claimed that the Singhs accused her of cheating on Samarth and forced her to terminate the pregnancy.
Image credits: The Tribune/ANI
The arrested husband and mother-in-law have maintained that Twisha struggled with mental health issues and took her own life.
But Twisha’s family believes the Singhs played a major role in her tragic passing.
Samarth was taken into custody on May 23, and his mother was arrested this week
The arrested husband and mother-in-law maintained that Twisha took her own life
The CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation, India’s main federal investigative agency) announced it would keep the mother and son in custody until June 2.
If you or someone you know is struggling with self-harm or s**cide ideation, help is available:International Hotlines
“Save your daughters from this situation,” one commented. “Don’t save the marriage, save your daughter”
