Ten days after model and actor Twisha Sharma’s body was first brought to the mortuary at AIIMS Bhopal, and following a rare second postmortem ordered by the Madhya Pradesh High Court, her Noida-based family on Sunday prepared to finally perform her last rites in Bhopal.
Twisha’s father, Navnidhi Sharma, told The Indian Express, “It’s very difficult to take Twisha’s body back to Delhi. It’s not practical, and we did not ask for the state government’s help. She will be cremated in Bhopal and her ashes will be immersed in Rishikesh.”
Harshit Sharma, her brother, said the family hoped to carry out the cremation by evening if the second postmortem process concludes as per schedule.
“If the process is completed on time — the postmortem usually takes around two to three hours — we are planning to perform the last rites today at around 5 pm at the cremation ground in Bhadbhada, Bhopal,” Harshit Sharma said Sunday.
Harshit also described the difficulty the family faced during the identification of the body after nearly 10 days.
“Identification was slightly difficult, considering it was being done after 10 days, as there were certain changes in the body,” he said. He added that the process became even more complicated because the body had already undergone one postmortem examination earlier at AIIMS Bhopal.
“Also, since a first postmortem had already been conducted on the body, it became a little more difficult. However, it was identified by matching the birthmarks and other features,” he said.
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The remarks came after a team of forensic experts deputed by AIIMS Delhi arrived in Bhopal to conduct a second postmortem following directions issued by the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
The court had ordered the second autopsy after Twisha’s family repeatedly alleged manipulation of evidence and questioned the findings of the first postmortem, which concluded that the cause of death was “asphyxia due to antemortem hanging by ligature.”
The family had resisted cremation for days while seeking preservation of the body, transfer of the investigation and an independent forensic examination.
Twisha’s cousin Ashish Sharma said the family initially wanted to take the body to Delhi for the final rites, but eventually decided against it because of the condition of the remains and the extreme heat.
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“We wanted to perform the last rites in Delhi, but I think it’s probably impractical in this heat to travel so far. Due to medical reasons, it’s been decided to perform her last rites in Bhopal,” Ashish Sharma said.
“She will be given her final farewell at 5 pm today,” he added.
The funeral is expected to take place at the Bhadbhada cremation ground in Bhopal later Sunday evening, bringing to an end a harrowing 10-day legal and forensic battle that transformed Twisha Sharma’s death into one of Madhya Pradesh’s most politically and emotionally charged criminal investigations.
The case has triggered allegations of dowry harassment, evidence tampering, disputed CCTV footage, influence over investigators and bitter courtroom battles between the accused family and Twisha’s relatives. The Madhya Pradesh government has since transferred the investigation to the CBI, while her accused husband, Samarth Singh, remains in police custody for interrogation.
Husband’s questioning
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Police sources indicated that the questioning during the seven-day remand was likely to move far beyond a simple narration of events and would instead focus on a layered reconstruction of the timeline, the crime scene, digital evidence, the couple’s relationship, alleged domestic disputes and Samarth’s conduct after the incident.
Investigators were also expected to examine where Samarth stayed during the nearly 10 days he remained absconding, who may have sheltered him and whether any attempts were made to influence or interfere with the investigation during that period.
According to sources familiar with the questioning, police may seek a minute-by-minute account of May 12 — the day Twisha died — including where she went, whom she met, whom she spoke to and whether there was any confrontation inside the house before the incident.
Samarth has in his bail application argued that after marriage, his relationship with Twisha was “normal” and that tensions allegedly increased after her pregnancy was confirmed on April 17.
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Samarth claimed that Twisha’s behaviour appeared to change after the pregnancy and that she allegedly told him she wanted to return to Delhi because she “could not live a domestic life.” Investigators, however, were expected to independently verify these claims through family statements, medical records and digital evidence.
Samarth alleged that Twisha later travelled to Ajmer and Delhi before returning to Bhopal at the end of April. Officers were expected to verify these movements through railway records, flight details, mobile location data and statements of family members.
