Twisha Sharma, a 33-year-old woman from Noida, was found dead under mysterious circumstances at her marital home in Katara Hills in Bhopal on the night of May 12. Police have booked her mother-in-law, a retired district judge, and her son, advocate Samarth Singh for allegedly subjecting her to mental harassment and domestic violence to fulfill their dowry demands.
Amid the ongoing investigation into the case, Twisha's last message that she sent to her friend Minakshi on Instagram has emerged, which read, "I am trapped, bro. Baas tu mat phasna (Just, don't get trapped yourself). Can’t talk much. I’ll call when the time is right.”
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“I am worried about you, Tuktuk. I love you. I love you so much. I am with you," her friend replied. Unfortunately, Twisha Sharma’s call to her friend never came and the next day, she was found hanging at her home in Bhopal.
Twisha Sharma case
According to India Today, a former Miss Pune, Twisha Sharma, had married Bhopal-based lawyer Samarth Singh in December 2025. Her brother, Harshit Sharma, serves as a Major in the Indian Army. Twisha and Samarth met on a dating app, police said. According to police, Sharma's family alleged that she had been harassed for dowry and murdered by her in-laws.
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“The accused and his mother rushed Twisha to a hospital, where she was declared dead on arrival by doctors. The police were alerted about the case by hospital authorities at around 11pm,” Katara Hills police station in-charge Sunil Kumar Dubey told PTI. Her relatives claimed she had spoken to them over phone till around 10pm on Tuesday and had expressed a desire to leave Bhopal and return to Noida.
Family alleges murder, dowry demands
Major Harshit Sharma has alleged that his sister faced prolonged mental harassment and domestic abuse at the hands of her husband and in-laws. According to him, she was also forced to terminate her pregnancy against her wishes.
“In her pregnancy, my sister wanted to continue with the child and become a mother. However, she was allegedly put under immense pressure by her husband and in-laws to undergo an abortion. Her character was repeatedly questioned, and accusations were made that the child was illegitimate. Due to continuous mental harassment and family pressure, the pregnancy was eventually terminated medically,” he said.
The family claimed that the harassment became more severe afterward. They further alleged that she was subjected to dowry-related abuse and was pressured to transfer shares and investments worth nearly Rs 20 lakh — gifted to her by her father — to her husband and in-laws.
The last phone call
According to Twisha’s family, she called her mother around 10:05 pm on the night of the incident and spoke about the harassment she was allegedly facing at her matrimonial home. Twisha’s brother said the call ended abruptly after her husband entered the room. “During the conversation, she abruptly disconnected the call after her husband came into the room,” he said.
He added that the family repeatedly tried to contact Twisha, her husband Samarth, and her mother-in-law Giribala Singh, but received no response initially. About 10 minutes later, at around 10:15 pm, Giribala Singh answered the call. The family requested her to immediately check on Twisha.
Five minutes later, at approximately 10:20 pm, the family was informed that Twisha was “not breathing”. Twisha was rushed to a hospital, where doctors declared her dead on arrival. Her family has alleged that there was a delay in providing medical treatment despite the hospital being only around 10 minutes away.
What does the post-mortem report say?
A postmortem conducted at AIIMS Bhopal reveals chilling details and stated that “death is due to antemortem hanging by ligature”. The autopsy report further noted: “Multiple antemortem injuries (simple in nature, possible by blunt force) over other parts of the body have been noted.”
According to the forensic findings, blood and viscera samples preserved for toxicological analysis “rule out concomitant intoxication”. The report also said nail clippings had been preserved for DNA analysis and noted that the ligature material was “neither present in situ nor submitted by IO for examination by us.”
SIT formed
Police have formed a six-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to conduct a probe into allegations of dowry harassment. Twisha's family protested outside Chief Minister Mohan Yadav’s official residence in Bhopal to press for their demands.
Twisha’s family claimed that her body had remained in the mortuary of AIIMS Bhopal for the last five days and demanded a second post-mortem examination at AIIMS Delhi. Her father Navnidhi Sharma and her brother said officials from the CM’s Office assured them of fair action after they met them during the protest. Navnidhi also demanded that the legal proceedings in the case be transferred to a court outside Madhya Pradesh.
Meanwhile, a local court granted anticipatory bail to the retired judge on Friday, while the hearing on Samarth Singh’s anticipatory bail plea is scheduled for May 18.
(With PTI and TOI inputs)
