Twisha visited salon, got head massage before death; CCTV captures final hours

Key Takeaways

• New CCTV footage reveals Twisha Sharma at a beauty salon before her death BHOPAL: Fresh CCTV footage showing Twisha Sharma at a beauty salon just hours before her death has surfaced with cops now expected to examine her final movements before she was found hanging at her marital home in Bhopal.The footage, recorded on May 12 at Beauty Parlour in the city, shows the 33-year-old spending nearly three hours at the salon, where she underwent a head massage and pedicure.
• According to the timestamp on the CCTV footage, Twisha arrived around 3.12pm.In the visuals, Twisha appears calm and relaxed, with no visible signs of distress, an aspect that is likely to become significant as cops attempt to reconstruct the events leading up to her death later that evening.Twisha, who married Bhopal-based lawyer Samarth Singh around five months ago, was found hanging at her in-laws’ house in the Katara Hills area on the same day.Her family has alleged that she was subjected to dowry harassment and mental torture after marriage over demands for a Fortuner SUV and Rs 50 lakh.The newly surfaced salon footage has emerged days after another CCTV clip from the house became part of the investigation.That video, earlier accessed by TOI, allegedly showed Twisha walking alone towards the terrace around 7.20 am on May 12.Nearly an hour later, three men — identified as her husband Samarth Singh, a neighbour and a househelp — were seen attempting CPR on her on a staircase landing before carrying her downstairs.
• In another portion of the footage, her mother-in-law, retired district judge Giribala Singh, is allegedly seen moving between rooms during the incident timeline.While the first post-mortem report cited hanging as the cause of death, Twisha’s family pointed to multiple injury marks on her body and demanded a second autopsy, alleging foul play.In a major development on Friday, the Madhya Pradesh high court allowed a second post-mortem examination by a team of doctors from AIIMS Delhi.
• The order came after Twisha’s family approached the court claiming the initial autopsy left several unanswered questions.The case has also intensified legally for Twisha’s in-laws.
• During a hearing in the high court, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Madhya Pradesh govt, alleged that Giribala Singh had contacted “influential people” and “CCTV technicians” within hours of Twisha’s death, raising suspicion of possible evidence tampering.The state govt sought cancellation of Giribala Singh’s anticipatory bail, arguing that it had been granted in “great haste” shortly after the first post-mortem was conducted.Meanwhile, Twisha’s husband Samarth Singh, who had been absconding for nearly 10 days, was arrested from the Jabalpur district court premises ahead of his planned surrender after withdrawing his anticipatory bail plea.Amid mounting public attention and demands from Twisha’s family for an impartial investigation, the Madhya Pradesh govt has formally handed over the case to the CBI.