From leaks of retired judge Giribala Singh’s call detail records (CDR), CCTV camera footage purportedly capturing the last moments of model-turned-actor Twisha Sharma who died following alleged dowry harassment last week to WhatsApp chats and private audio conversions circulating across social media platforms – the investigation into Twisha’s death has spiralled into an acrimonious legal fight between the two bereaved families over digital evidence.
While Twisha’s mother-in-law Giribala Singh moved a magistrate court on Thursday, her family and absconding husband, Samarth Singh, moved the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
At first, questions were raised after the Bhopal Police did not produce the nylon gym rope allegedly used by Twisha to hang herself at the time of the postmortem examination in AIIMS Bhopal but produced the same a day later. Then, CCTV footage, audio conversions and last calls details also leaked, raising questions over the handling of crucial digital evidence by the police.
In her application before a Bhopal magistrate, Giribala alleged that the DVR system capturing Twisha’s last moments “suffered from a technical defect and displayed a date and time approximately 2 days, 2 hours and 20 minutes behind the actual time”. It added that this discrepancy was specifically disclosed to the investigating officer at the time of seizure but was never properly documented.
The plea further alleged that investigators failed to carry out mandatory panchnama proceedings while seizing the footage. According to Giribala, the back-up recordings should have been played before witnesses and the individuals visible in the footage should have been formally identified and recorded during the seizure process. “No such proceedings were conducted by the police,” the plea claimed.
According to the plea, eight CCTV cameras had been installed at the residence where Twisha was found dead on the night of May 12. The system, connected to a DVR (Digital Video Recorder) was allegedly accessed by the police on May 13 through a technician from the installation firm before being seized by investigators.
Twisha’s family, meanwhile, moved HC seeking urgent preservation of CDRs, subscriber records and CCTV footage from AIIMS Bhopal between May 12 and 20, alleging that “influential persons connected to the accused attempted to interfere with both the police investigation and the postmortem process”.
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The family alleged that Twisha’s in-laws allegedly retained effective control over the crime scene for nearly two days before crucial evidence was secured. “The entire crime scene was under the possession and control of both the accused for almost two days,” the plea said.
It also questioned how allegedly “doctored CCTV footage” later surfaced publicly if investigators had properly secured the electronic evidence from the very beginning. “If investigating agency had seized the entire evidences from the crime scene timely then how come doctored CCTV footage were issued by the accused after getting anticipatory bail,” the plea stated.
Further, the family claimed that the CDRs could reveal attempts to influence officials. According to the plea, Giribala made “several calls to influential persons due to which entire investigation was influenced and AIIMS had also issued reports with several lapses”.
A senior police officer said police are focused on apprehending Samarth. “The allegations of mishandling evidence will then be probed. It’s not a substantial issue, as the ligature material and DVR have been seized under proper guidelines despite the delay.”
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Samarth, against whom police have announced a reward, in his plea before the HC, argued that the sessions court wrongly denied him anticipatory bail despite granting relief to his mother in the same case.
In his plea, Samarth argued that the allegations of dowry demand were inherently doubtful because he and his mother had allegedly transferred more than Rs 7 lakh to Twisha’s account. “The WhatsApp chats presented by the complainant are edited and incomplete. The same being tampered cannot be relied upon,” the plea said.
“More than Rs 7 lakh has been transferred online to the account of Mrs Twisha by the applicant and his mother in a complaint of dowry harassment for a demand of Rs 2 lakh,” it added.
Samarth further argued that the probe so far had not produced any material directly linking him to Twisha’s death. “…The entire prosecution story being constructed and built is based on imagination and presumptions,” the petition claimed.
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The Madhya Pradesh Police, meanwhile, issued a Lookout Circular against Samarth, a lawyer, to prevent him from fleeing the country and tripled the cash reward for information leading to his arrest to Rs 30,000.
Moreover, the Madhya Pradesh government has initiated an inquiry against Giribala, marking the first formal administrative action initiated by the state against her since the registration of the FIR. Giribala, a retired district judge, currently serves as chairperson of the district consumer commission in Bhopal.
In an official communication dated May 20, the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Department informed the Registrar of the Madhya Pradesh State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, “…kindly conduct an inquiry regarding the case registered against Mrs Giribala Singh, Chairperson, District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Bhopal-2, and make the inquiry report available at the earliest.”
Madhya Pradesh Police has also issued the third and final notice for recording of statement to Giribala. “The third and last notice has been issued to her (for recording of statement). If she does not cooperate, we will move the sessions court seeking cancellation of her bail,” Bhopal Commissioner of Police Sanjay Kumar told PTI.
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Twisha’s family is now expected to challenge the anticipatory bail granted to Giribala before the HC, arguing that the sessions court failed to properly appreciate the allegations of influence over the investigation and postmortem process.
Earlier this week, MP Chief Minister Mohan Yadav had said the state government would write to the CBI seeking an investigation into the matter.
