Perhaps not since the murder of 13-year-old Arushi Talwar, who was found dead in her own bedroom in 2008, has India been as fixated with a crime as we are with the death of Twisha Sharma.
There are two reasons for why the death of a former model and actor in her mother-in-law’s house has the nation both agitated and riveted.
The first is the resonance hundreds of thousands of women have felt with Twisha’s plight — the societal conditioning that continues to inhibit a woman’s ability to leave an abusive marriage and the cultural camouflage that disguises and normalises modern-day dowry.
The second reason is the persona of Giribala Singh, the accused mother-in-law and how she has come to represent the impunity of the powerful in a system so corroded that it becomes supine before those who wield power.
In the perception of the Indian people, this is now a David-Goliath battle where the good of the ordinary folk is being tested by the might of the venal.
Even on their first night in Bhopal jail, Singh and son were able to access VIP privileges. Both were moved to the hospital within the jail premises with Samarth Singh citing an injury and Giribala Singh reportedly claiming a security concern. You’d think the jail officials or the accused would worry about the impression that this conveys after unprecedented national scrutiny. But clearly, the connections that the former judge and her family seem to wield run deep.
And then there’s the fact that Twisha’s death is fast turning into a whodunnit or rather— howdunnit. There’s mounting evidence that she was assaulted before she died. And that we are looking possibly at a case of culpable homicide dressed up to look like a suicide.
Investigators will have the final word, but let me share some hard facts that have clouded the claims of suicide.
Giribala Singh’s obsession with retrieving CCTV footage hours after Twisha died is the perfect indicator of a cover-up. The CCTV technician who installed cameras in her residence confirms she was keen to secure the footage of the crime scene. And her fixation with CCTV cameras did not end here. The owner of the beauty parlour where Twisha was last seen alive on the day of her death gave us a damning testimony. She said Giribala called her the morning after Twisha’s death and asked for the video footage of Twisha inside the parlour. A group of lawyers arrived shortly after to demand that the footage be handed over.
The sub inspector did not provide the alleged nylon belt used by Twisha to hang herself during the first post-mortem. Veteran police officers say this is so basic that it could not have been an oversight. Yet, no heads have rolled so far.
If this procedural lapse were not bad enough; there is now proof that the first post-mortem was potentially compromised by the presence of Giribala Singh’s sister when it was being conducted. Twisha’s sister-in-law, Dr Rashi Abrol told me she spoke to Giribala’s sister, who is also a doctor and discovered the collusion. Subsequently, M.P government lawyers mentioned fears of a compromise in court.
An audio recording made by Twisha’s family before she died has been released to the media. The recording reveals Giribala Singh using the most vicious abusive language for her daughter-in-law. On the tape, her brother Major Harshit Sharma can be heard confronting Giribala. In the heated exchange that follows, she also purportedly refers to her son’s drug habit and how he lost two years in college because of this addiction. This is a critical piece of evidence because in public Giribala Singh smeared her daughter-in-law and accused her of having a drug problem. In private, she admits it’s the other way around.
Finally, there is the incontrovertible fact of the injuries on Twisha’s body, all of which were antemortem. Of the seven injuries, four were on her arm, one on the ring finger, and one on the head. While Giribala and her son tried to claim that these injuries were from dragging her body down the steps from the roof after her alleged suicide; it has now been medically established that these injuries were before her death. This clearly raises the very real possibility that she was hit and perhaps hit back to defend herself.
Some people have suggested that the robust reporting on this case is tantamount to a media trial. I have to disagree. And my sense is most people would vehemently disagree as well. In fact, we are deluged with messages to not do the usual media thing of moving on to the next headline. People are worried that if the case falls off the news, Twisha and her family will be forgotten.
Already there are many disturbing questions that have not been answered. When Samarth Singh ran and turned absconder, who did he take shelter with? Why did the Bhopal police not apprehend him? Was there someone powerful who threw a protective shield over him? Will those people be prosecuted? What did he do while he was hiding? The unfettered access Giribala Singh had for close to 10 days to the scene of crime has also created scepticism in the public mind about whether evidence has been permanently erased or manipulated.
As a former judge and someone with a special course in crime scene management, Giribala Singh has all the instruments at her disposal.
To turn away now and not diligently keep raising questions is to let down not just Twisha; but thousands of Indian women who saw a reflection of their own lives, both the good and bad, in the story of this young woman.
Barkha Dutt is an award-winning journalist and author. The views expressed are personal
