After nearly two weeks of courtroom battles, protests against the police, and duelling allegations on forensic and digital evidence, Twisha Sharma’s last rites were carried out on Sunday evening at the Bhadbhada cremation ground, where grief-stricken relatives carried the 33-year-old model and actor’s remains to her funeral pyre, covered in marigolds and silence.
When Twisha’s body was finally released after the second postmortem conducted by experts from AIIMS Delhi at AIIMS Bhopal, her family gathered for one final glimpse before the cremation.
Carrying her body, wrapped in white and bright red cloth and placed on a bamboo bier, toward the cremation ground triggered a fresh eruption of grief for the family.
Her mother, Rekha Sharma, broke down as relatives tried to steady her while the body was prepared for the final rites. At several moments, family members had to physically support her as she sobbed uncontrollably beside her daughter’s remains.
By the time the body reached the cremation ground, it had been completely covered in thick marigold garlands. Relatives leaned over the bier, burying their faces into the flowers and weeping quietly as prayers continued around them.
The mother had to be helped into the cremation ground by relatives who repeatedly handed her bottles of water as she struggled through exhaustion, heat and grief to remain standing beside her daughter’s funeral pyre.
Family members embraced each other and cried silently as Twisha’s body was lifted onto the funeral pyre by relatives, some of them retired and serving Army officers wearing military jackets and caps. Eventually, it was Twisha’s brother, Harshit Sharma, who lit the funeral pyre.
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For nearly two weeks, Harshit had become the public face of the family’s fight, protesting outside police stations, attending court hearings, briefing the media and pursuing legal petitions from the Madhya Pradesh High Court to the Supreme Court while refusing to allow the cremation until a second postmortem was conducted.
That battle transformed Twisha’s death from a dowry death investigation into one of Madhya Pradesh’s most explosive and emotionally charged criminal cases.
Twisha was found dead at her matrimonial home in Bhopal less than six months after her marriage to Samarth Singh, son of retired judge Giribala Singh.
What followed was an extraordinary chain of events with allegations of murder and evidence tampering by Twisha’s family, claims of investigative lapses by senior police officers, leaked CCTV footage, disputed WhatsApp chats, accusations of influence over forensic procedures, a dramatic surrender attempt by Samarth in Jabalpur after 10 days on the run, and ultimately the transfer of the investigation to the CBI.
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The family repeatedly refused to cremate Twisha’s body while demanding a second postmortem and alleging that the first forensic examination had been compromised. The body remained in the mortuary for days as legal petitions moved rapidly between courts.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court eventually ordered a second postmortem, observing that because the death had occurred within six months of marriage, “all doubts from any quarter” should be removed.
Even after the cremation on Sunday, the legal battle surrounding Twisha’s death is far from over.
The family is now preparing for a hearing before the Supreme Court on Monday, while another crucial hearing is scheduled in the Madhya Pradesh High Court, where the state government and Twisha’s father are seeking cancellation of the anticipatory bail granted to Giribala Singh.
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The state government has accused Giribala Singh of leaking selective CCTV footage, failing to cooperate with investigators and influencing the investigation, allegations she has denied.
Giribala Singh, whose media appearances and controversial remarks in the days after Twisha’s death triggered a political and media storm, did not speak to reporters during Sunday’s funeral proceedings.
Instead, her lawyer Enosh George Carlo briefly offered condolences to Twisha’s family while arriving at the Singh residence for last-minute consultations ahead of the upcoming court hearings.
