As a Special Investigation Team probes the suspicious death of 33-year-old model and actress Twisha Sharma in Bhopal, her mother-in-law — a retired district judge — has filed an explosive bail plea that alleges cannabis consumption during pregnancy. Here is a complete, fact-checked breakdown of every claim, every counter-claim, and where the investigation stands.
Who Was Twisha Sharma?
Twisha Sharma was a 33-year-old marketing and communications professional originally from Noida, Uttar Pradesh. She was an MBA graduate, a former Miss Pune contestant, a content creator, and had worked in Telugu cinema. On December 9, 2025, she married Samarth Singh — a Bhopal-based advocate and son of retired district and sessions court judge Giribala Singh — after meeting him on a dating application in 2024.
Just five months into that marriage, on the night of May 12, 2026, Twisha was found hanging on the terrace of her in-laws' home in Bhopal's Katara Hills locality. She was reportedly pregnant at the time of her death. The post-mortem examination, conducted on May 13 at AIIMS Bhopal, recorded the cause of death as "antemortem hanging ligature." It also noted multiple antemortem injuries — described as "simple in nature, possibly by blunt force" — on other parts of her body. That detail has become central to her family's claim that it was murder, not suicide.
Timeline of Events
- December 9, 2025
Twisha Sharma marries advocate Samarth Singh in Bhopal.
- April 17, 2026
According to the mother-in-law's bail plea, Twisha visits a hospital in Bhopal and discovers she is pregnant.
- April 18, 2026
Twisha reportedly leaves Bhopal for Delhi/Noida the day after learning of the pregnancy.
- April 30, 2026
Twisha returns from Noida to Bhopal. The bail plea alleges she consumed cannabis heavily upon return, leading to complications.
- May 12, 2026 (night)
Twisha is found hanging on the terrace of the marital home in Katara Hills. She is brought down, CPR is administered on the staircase. She is rushed to hospital and pronounced dead.
- May 13, 2026
AIIMS Bhopal conducts post-mortem. Report cites "antemortem hanging ligature" as cause of death, with additional blunt-force injuries noted.
- May 15, 2026
Bail Application No. 1488/2026 is filed before the Court of the Tenth Additional Sessions Judge, Bhopal, by Giribala Singh (accused no. 2).
- May 18, 2026
Giribala Singh holds a press conference in Bhopal. Husband Samarth Singh remains untraceable; Bhopal Police announce Rs 10,000 cash reward for information on his whereabouts.
- May 19, 2026
Samarth Singh's anticipatory bail is rejected. CCTV footage of Twisha's final moments surfaces online.
The Marijuana Claim: What the Bail Plea Actually Says
The claim about marijuana first appeared not in a news report but inside a formal legal document — Bail Application No. 1488/2026 — filed on behalf of Giribala Singh on May 15. The plea was subsequently leaked on social media, bringing its contents into national focus.
According to the bail plea, after Twisha returned to Bhopal from Noida on April 30, she consumed a "heavy quantity of cannabis," which the application alleges led to pregnancy complications. At a press conference on May 18, Giribala Singh went further, publicly stating that "Twisha confessed to consuming large quantities of marijuana during pregnancy."
The bail plea also contains several other allegations about Twisha's health and conduct. The application claims Twisha was dependent on narcotic substances and would display withdrawal symptoms — including trembling hands and feet — when she could not access them. It further alleges she was receiving treatment for schizophrenia from a Bhopal psychiatrist, Dr Satyakant Trivedi, a prescription from whom was submitted as evidence in the plea. The plea also claims Twisha became emotionally distressed after discovering her pregnancy on April 17, and that she wished to terminate the pregnancy.
"Twisha was on schizophrenic drugs, we failed to save her."— Giribala Singh, at a press conference in Bhopal, May 18, 2026 (as reported by ANI)
These claims, it must be clearly stated, originate from the accused party in a criminal case and were filed as part of a bail application — a legal document designed to argue for the applicant's release. They have not been independently verified, and Twisha's family has described them as deliberate character assassination of a deceased woman who cannot respond.
Two Irreconcilable Narratives
At the core of this case are two completely opposing accounts of who Twisha Sharma was and what led to her death.
Twisha's Family Alleges
- Systematic dowry harassment from husband and mother-in-law
- Physical and emotional abuse after marriage
- Husband Samarth refused to acknowledge the pregnancy
- WhatsApp chats show Twisha describing life as "hell"
- Twisha repeatedly asked her mother to take her away from the in-laws
- Multiple blunt-force injuries suggest she was murdered, not a suicide
- Claims about drugs are "character assassination" of the deceased
Mother-in-Law's Version (Bail Plea)
- Twisha had pre-existing mental health issues and schizophrenia
- She was addicted to narcotic substances and showed withdrawal symptoms
- She consumed heavy cannabis during pregnancy
- She wanted to abort the child
- Her father allegedly gave her weight-loss medicines for her modelling career
- Family tried to help her, including arranging psychiatric treatment
- Samarth "never used drugs" and is a competent advocate
What the AIIMS Post-Mortem Report Actually Established
The preliminary post-mortem report is the closest thing to objective medical evidence in this case so far. It states two key things: first, that the cause of death was "antemortem hanging ligature" — meaning Twisha was alive when the hanging occurred; and second, that there were "multiple antemortem injuries, simple in nature, possibly by blunt force" elsewhere on her body.
The presence of blunt-force injuries is the detail her family and supporters have seized upon. As Twisha's cousin Meenakshi stated, those marks are inconsistent with a simple hanging suicide. The SIT, led by Misrod ACP Rajneesh Kashyap, has confirmed it is probing allegations of dowry harassment, physical assault, and attempt to destroy evidence — not just the circumstances of the hanging itself.
Crucially, ACP Kashyap also confirmed that the investigating officer failed to send the rope to AIIMS during the autopsy — a significant lapse in forensic procedure that could affect the strength of evidence in any future prosecution. Action against the responsible officer has been announced.
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Where the Legal Battle Stands
The case has moved quickly on the legal front. A six-member SIT was constituted to investigate charges including dowry harassment, physical assault, and attempt to destroy evidence. The FIR was registered at the Katara Hills police station in Bhopal.
Giribala Singh, 64 — described in the bail application itself as a retired district court judge — was granted anticipatory bail by a local court. Her son Samarth Singh, however, has not been as fortunate. Sessions Judge Pallavi Dwivedi rejected his anticipatory bail application on May 19, a decision Twisha's father Navnidh Sharma called "only a partial step." Navnidh has demanded immediate arrest for both, warning that the family's wealth and legal connections could help them seek relief from higher courts.
Samarth Singh, who has been untraceable since the incident, became the subject of a formal manhunt. Bhopal Police announced a cash reward of Rs 10,000 for any information leading to his arrest — a relatively modest figure, but a signal that the official search has now been publicly escalated.
"Our victory will be when both are punished."— Navnidh Sharma, Twisha's father, after court rejected Samarth Singh's bail, May 19, 2026 (PTI)
CCTV footage emerges in Twisha Sharma murder case (Bhopal):
— Ghar Ke Kalesh (@gharkekalesh) May 18, 2026
31-year-old Twisha is seen climbing stairs shortly before her death. Her husband Samarth Singh & others attempt CPR. Ex-judge mother-in-law Giribala Singh enters a room. Later, three people carry her body downstairs. pic.twitter.com/mRRc9NvEP0
The Friend Who Asked: "Why Would She?"
Beyond the legal arguments and counter-claims, the voices of those who knew Twisha personally add a different dimension to this story. Madhuri Patle, who was Miss Universe India 2023 and described as a close friend of Twisha, spoke to the media on May 18 and expressed deep scepticism about the suicide narrative.
"Why would anyone today, when you are a model, have done an MBA, lived in different cities and become very confident, not choose other ways to walk away?" she asked. "You can separate, you can get divorced. Why would somebody commit suicide?" Madhuri's statement — neither making a legal allegation nor accepting the official version — captures the bewilderment felt by many who knew Twisha as a determined, independent woman.
Why This Case Has Struck a National Nerve
The Twisha Sharma case has achieved the level of national attention it has for several intersecting reasons. The WhatsApp chats — in which Twisha reportedly described her life as "hell" and begged her mother to take her away — are visceral documents that many Indians, especially women, recognise from the lived reality of domestic pressure. The fact that her body has not yet been accepted by her own family, and currently remains in the AIIMS Bhopal mortuary, underscores the depth of the family's grief and protest.
The profile of the accused has also sharpened public interest. The mother-in-law is a retired judge. The husband is a practising advocate. The argument from Twisha's father — that "money and power" could influence the outcome — is one that resonates with public distrust of the judicial system when the accused are legal insiders.
The counterarguments being raised — that Twisha was mentally ill, addicted to drugs, and consumed marijuana during pregnancy — are being heard by many as an attempt to posthumously discredit a woman who can no longer defend herself. Whether the allegations are legally relevant or simply a bail strategy, the optics have not been kind to the in-laws' side.
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