Twisha Sharma’s husband, mother-in-law sent to 5-day CBI custody:Agency plans joint interrogation, recreates actress’ final hours virtually

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested retired judge Giribala Singh, the mother-in-law of actress-model Twisha Sharma, in connection with her death case. She has been accused of tampering with evidence. The agency took action after three consecutive days of questioning, spot verification and examination of evidence. Giribala Singh will be produced before court today. The CBI had formally registered an FIR in the case on the night of May 25. On May 26, a CBI team first reached Giribala Singh’s residence in Bagh Mugalia Extension, Bhopal, where officials questioned her for nearly two hours. The agency gathered information regarding the circumstances on the night of Twisha’s death, the movements of people present inside the house and the actions taken after the incident. Twisha’s husband Samarth Singh had already been taken into CBI remand. Sources said the agency will now question Samarth and Giribala face-to-face. CBI using ‘tunnel view investigation’ technique The CBI is now using a “tunnel view investigation” technique. The agency is preparing a virtual reconstruction of Twisha’s final hours to understand every activity minute-by-minute before and after the incident. On May 28 at around 10:30 am, the CBI team again reached Giribala Singh’s house and questioned her continuously for over seven hours. In nearly 10 hours of questioning over three days, investigators attempted to connect all links in the sequence of events. During spot verification, the agency reportedly found indications suggesting possible tampering of evidence, following which Giribala Singh was arrested. The CBI is now examining call detail records, tower locations and digital evidence. Investigators are trying to establish who was contacted on the night of the incident and what changes, if any, were made at the scene after Twisha’s death. CBI creating Twisha’s digital avatar According to sources, the CBI has created a digital movement track of Twisha inside the house. CCTV footage, mobile phone data, Wi-Fi logs, call detail records and forensic mapping of rooms are being combined to reconstruct her final movements and interactions inside the three-storey house. The agency is also preparing a “digital avatar” of Twisha to determine where she was before the incident, who entered or exited rooms and what activities took place at specific times. Investigators are matching CCTV timestamps, mobile activity and internet usage data to prepare a simulated virtual walkthrough. This is expected to help identify gaps in the timeline, suspicious movements and contradictions in statements. The CBI may also question other family members, domestic staff and people who came in contact with the family after the incident. Allegations over ₹20 lakh worth of shares Investigations have revealed that Twisha had invested around ₹20 lakh in shares of several companies. It is alleged that her husband Samarth Singh and mother-in-law Giribala Singh pressured her to transfer the shares in their names. According to Twisha’s advocate Ankur Pandey, the shares were worth nearly ₹20 lakh at the time of her marriage. After marriage, Twisha had travelled to Vietnam. Sources said that after she returned, Samarth and Giribala came to know about the shares registered in her name. Investigators have also found that Twisha had told her mother over the phone that Samarth and Giribala physically assaulted her over dowry demands and mentally harassed her regarding having a child. CBI seeks custodial interrogation In a related development, the CBI on Friday produced both Giribala Singh and Samarth Singh before a special court and sought five-day remand for each accused, which the court approved. The defence counsel did not oppose the remand request. Samarth Singh had already been on seven-day CBI remand and was produced again after the earlier remand ended. According to sources, both accused will now be interrogated together. The agency is also expected to question Samarth about his whereabouts while absconding and the people he was in contact with during that period.