New Delhi: Giribala Singh not only pestered Twisha Sharma with menstrual schedules but also forcibly tried to stop her daughter-in-law from undergoing a medical abortion procedure, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has mentioned in its chargesheet.
Five days before she was found dead at her in-laws’ residence in Bhopal on the night of 12 May, Twisha is said to have told a doctor that her husband Samarth Singh and his family were coercing her to “reverse” the abortion procedure.
Before her arrest in May last week, Giribala told the media that her daughter-in-law had taken MTP (Medical Termination of Pregnancy) pills despite family objections, and later expressed a desire to undo the procedure. “On 7th May, she must have taken the pill. She completed the entire MTP procedure, and we had to support her,” the retired judge said.
The CBI has charged both Giribala and Samarth under Sections 80(2) (dowry death), 85 (husband or relative of husband subjecting her to cruelty), 108 (abetment to suicide), 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act.
In the 600 page-plus chargesheet, the CBI alleged that the former wife of Giribala’s elder son faced similar treatment for not having a child and staying without a job after marriage.
It also mentioned that Twisha had informed her brother’s wife that Giribala was livid at her abortion decision and that Samarth had told his mother: “Pahli wali ko bhi aapne banjh kah kar bhaga diya (You had also thrown out an earlier one calling her sterile).”
“Since her marriage, she (Giribala) continuously inquired about her (Twisha) periods. When Twisha got annoyed with these regular enquiries and told the accused that she will inform her about her decision to conceive, the accused got furious. The accused Giribala Singh complained about this to the accused Samarth Singh also,” the agency alleged in the chargesheet.
“At that relevant time, the accused, Samarth Singh, subjected the deceased to mental cruelty by resorting to character assassination by referring to her past relationships, thereby causing her mental harassment and distress,” it alleged.
Twisha, 33, from Uttar Pradesh’s Greater Noida, was found hanging at the Bhopal residence, just five months after her marriage to Samarth. Giribala and her lawyer son are in judicial custody in the Bhopal Central Jail.
The CBI had arrested Giribala Singh, a retired district judge, hours after the Madhya Pradesh government transferred the case amid the uproar over Twisha’s death.
ThePrint has sent queries through WhatsApp messages and calls to Enosh George Carlo, the lawyer for the mother-son duo, regarding the CBI’s allegations against Giribala. The story will be updated as and when a response is received.
Also Read: Twisha Sharma suicide: CBI charges former MP district judge, son with ‘cruelty & abetment’
Marriage turned upside down—between March & May
Having met on an online dating application in February last year, the CBI chargesheet mentioned, Twisha decided to marry Samarth as early as March and informed her family of her decision. The marriage, it added, took place on 9 December last year, with the entire expenditure borne by Twisha’s family.
Samarth subjected Twisha to mental cruelty on several occasions, the CBI chargesheet said. These, it added, abuses, including derogatory words suggesting she had multiple relationships in the past before marriage. When Twisha complained about these episodes of abuse with her mother-in-law, the CBI alleged, Giribala used to “shield” her son.
The relationship between Twisha and her husband and mother-in-law started hitting a trough in March when she was with her father, who was recuperating from a heart attack.
Both Giribala and Samarth allegedly forced Twisha to return to Bhopal on 14 March, the CBI documented in the chargesheet. Twisha got pregnant by next month, but she wanted to take some time and think about the fate of her pregnancy, citing ill-behaviour of her husband, it added.
“Investigation revealed that after marriage, Twisha Sharma was subjected to mental cruelty by accused Samarth Singh on many occasions. Accused Samarth Singh abused her many times using derogatory words …. despite the fact that the deceased was honest and truthful in telling him about her past relationships before their marriage,” the CBI chargesheet read.
Twisha’s mother called Giribala to complain about the behaviour of her son-in-law. But, Giribala continued her torture and put Twisha under distress by continuing her probe into her previous relationships, the CBI alleged.
Later, the two families met in Bhopal where they “mutually agreed” that the couple would undergo counselling to improve their relationship, the CBI said, adding that Samarth informed Twisha in the same meeting on 23 April about his plans to go to Bengaluru and asked if she would come along.
Twisha rejected the proposal, fearing mental cruelty and returned Noida to look for job opportunities. She then reached Bhopal on 30 April when Samarth was supposed to arrive from Bengaluru.
The same day, Twisha and Samarth visited a hospital where she informed the doctor about her decision to terminate the unplanned pregnancy. The doctor prescribed medicine-based abortion, but recommended medications that treat anxiety for 10 days before making the decision with a calm mind.
On 12 May, Twisha allegedly asked her mother to send Rs 3,000 to book a ticket to Nasirabad as Samarth was not ready to take her to a couple counselling session. On the same day, the CBI said, Twisha alerted her mother and sister-in-law that she did her best to save the marriage but she wanted to return.
Ankur Pandey and Shubhank Dixit, the counsels for Twisha’s family, said that the CBI probe has two lacunae.
The first postmortem report, they said, mentioned Twisha’s body had injuries and contusions which “could not have occurred after death, as blood flow is needed for contusion”.
“However, the second postmortem report ruled out any such injuries, without taking into account the long period the body was stored while investigation and pleas for fresh postmortem were pending,” Dixit told ThePrint.
The other lacuna was that the CBI did not charge any other person, except Giribala and Samarth, despite Twisha’s husband absconding for more than a week to avoid arrest
“There has to be an abettor for someone to be abetted for the crime. Samarth was sheltered by someone when he was trying to evade arrest. No attempts have been made to cover such individuals,” Dixit added.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
Also Read: Twisha Sharma’s family wants case to be moved to UP or Delhi, husband Samarth Singh still at large
The media trial has needlessly made monsters out of Giribala Singh and her son Samarth. Just like the media did with Brij Bhushan Singh.
It’s really sad and utterly distasteful.
I hope the court relies only on hard evidence submitted by the CBI and is not swayed by the media trials and hullabaloo. The second AIIMS post-mortem has already confirmed that it was indeed a case of suicide. And not one of murder – as claimed by Twisha Sharma’s family members.
One cannot but feel for this dignified old lady and her son. Being hauled over the coals for false charges of murder levelled by the media.
Sincerely hope that she and her son will be found not guilty by the court and set free.