A Bhopal court on Saturday remanded Samarth Singh, the husband of model and actor Twisha Sharma, to seven days of police custody in connection with her alleged dowry death .
The remand was granted from May 23 to May 29 after police produced Samarth before Judicial Magistrate First Class Anudita Gupta, less than 24 hours after his arrest from Jabalpur . The court also ordered the seizure of his passport, which was submitted by his counsel .
Police cite non-cooperation, seek custodial interrogation
Bhopal Police Commissioner Sanjay Kumar told the court that the accused was not cooperating with the investigation and sought custodial interrogation for seven days . The court subsequently granted the police remand.
The defence counsel representing Samarth Singh opposed the remand, arguing it was “unnecessary” as “there is nothing to recover” . Advocate Gyanendra Sharma stated that after the remand period concludes, they will approach the court for bail .
Arrest after days of evading capture
Samarth Singh had been absconding since May 12, when Twisha was found dead at their home in Bhopal’s Katara Hills area . Police had announced a reward of Rs 10,000, later increased to Rs 30,000, for information leading to his arrest .
He was taken into custody from the Jabalpur district court premises on Friday evening after attempting to surrender there . According to Commissioner Kumar: “He had come to the court in Jabalpur to surrender, but the court refused to let him surrender. Meanwhile, my team was also there. Then, my team took him into custody with the help of the Jabalpur police team” .
Samarth had previously moved the Madhya Pradesh High Court seeking anticipatory bail after a subordinate court rejected his plea on May 18. He withdrew the application on Friday, after which the High Court allowed him to surrender before the trial court or the investigating officer .
Mother-in-law denies receiving notices
Samarth’s mother, Giribala Singh — a retired district and sessions judge and current chairperson of the Bhopal Consumer Court — is also named as an accused in the FIR . Police claim three notices have been served to her, though she has denied receiving them .
“We’ve issued three notices to her. Now she is denying it, that’s a different matter. But we served notices. She is accused of heinous offences,” Commissioner Kumar said, adding that police have approached the court seeking cancellation of her anticipatory bail .
AIIMS Delhi team arrives for second autopsy
In a parallel development, a four-member team of forensic experts from AIIMS Delhi arrived in Bhopal on Saturday evening in a special chartered aircraft arranged by the Madhya Pradesh government .
The medical board, constituted by the AIIMS Delhi director, will conduct a second post-mortem of Twisha’s body at AIIMS Bhopal on Sunday . The team will also examine the crime scene at the Katara Hills residence as part of the forensic investigation .
The second autopsy was ordered by the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Friday after Twisha’s father, Navnidhi Sharma, alleged that the first post-mortem report prepared by AIIMS Bhopal was “incomplete, inadequate and unscientific” .
Political pressure and CBI probe
The case has sparked a massive media frenzy, with Twisha’s family alleging murder while the Singh family claims she died by suicide . The Madhya Pradesh government has transferred the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) following Chief Minister Mohan Yadav’s assurance to the Sharma family .
The National Commission for Women has taken suo motu cognisance of the case and sought a detailed action taken report from the MP Chief Secretary and DGP within seven days .
Twisha Sharma, 33, a model and actor who was crowned Miss Pune in 2012, had married Samarth Singh in December 2025. Her family alleges she was subjected to mental torture and dowry harassment .
