Bhopal, May 29 (IANS) A district court in Bhopal on Friday sent former district judge Giribala Singh and her son Samarth Singh to five-day CBI custody in connection with the alleged dowry death of actor-model Twisha Sharma.

Both accused were produced before the court after separate medical examinations conducted under heavy security arrangements.

After entering the courtroom of Sessions Judge Shobhana Bhalavi, Giribala Singh and Samarth Singh stood together in the accused box.

They were seen speaking to each other quietly while the proceedings were underway.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Giribala Singh on Thursday after more than seven hours of questioning at her residence in the Katara Hills area of Bhopal.

Following her arrest, she was taken to a special medical camp set up at the Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (MANI) campus, Bhopal, for examination before being produced in court.

Samarth Singh was brought to court after completion of his earlier police remand. He was arrested by Bhopal Police from Jabalpur on May 22 after remaining untraceable for nearly a week following Twisha Sharma’s death on May 12.

Twisha Sharma was allegedly found hanging at her in-laws’ residence in Katara Hills. Her family later accused her husband and in-laws of dowry harassment, leading to demands for a detailed investigation.

Samarth Singh was first produced before a Judicial Magistrate First Class court in Bhopal on May 23. The court had then sent him to police custody till May 29.

After taking over the investigation on the recommendation of the Madhya Pradesh government, the CBI sought fresh custody of Samarth for further interrogation.

During the remand period, the agency took Samarth to the alleged crime scene and conducted a detailed forensic inspection with the help of a specialised team from Delhi equipped with advanced investigation tools.

The CBI team spent several hours at the Katara Hills residence carrying out photography, videography and collection of evidence while questioning Samarth about the events of the night of May 12.

Giribala Singh’s arrest came hours after the Madhya Pradesh High Court rejected her interim bail plea on Thursday.

–IANS

pd/uk