Bhopal ‘dowry death’: Twisha Sharma's kin protests in front of MP CM's house; seeks AIIMS post-mortem | What we know

Twisha Sharma, a former Miss Pune who hailed from Noida, was found hanging at her marital home in Bhopal on 12 May. Her family has accused her in-laws of dowry harassment and murder.

According to police, Twisha met Bhopal-based lawyer Samarth Singh through a dating app in 2024 and married him in December 2025. Her family has accused Singh and his mother, Giribala Singh, a former judge, of murder.

"Samarth and his mother had rushed Twisha Sharma to a hospital, where doctors declared her dead on arrival. Police received the information about her death from hospital authorities around 11 pm (on Tuesday)," an official said.

A case under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to dowry death and harassment had been registered against Singh and his mother, said Rajneesh Kashyap, Assistant Commissioner of Police, who is heading the Special Investigation Team (SIT).

He had said police have intensified efforts to trace and arrest Singh.

Here's all we know about the case

• According to Twisha Sharma's relatives, she wanted to leave Bhopal and return to Noida. They also claimed that she remained in touch with them until around 10 pm on Tuesday, shortly before her death.
• Officials said the SIT would investigate allegations related to dowry harassment, physical assault and alleged attempts to destroy evidence after Sharma's death.
• Sharma's family staged a protest outside Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav's official residence in Bhopal on Sunday, demanding a fresh post-mortem examination of her body 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.

• Her family is claiming that her body had remained in the mortuary of AIIMS Bhopal for the last five days and has demanded a second post-mortem examination at AIIMS Delhi.
• Sharma died due to “antemortem hanging by ligature,” indicating she was alive when hanged, according to an NDTV report, citing the short post-mortem report.
• The report also mentioned “multiple antemortem injuries” – wounds, bruises before death – over other parts of the body, and revealed that the medical termination of pregnancy was performed a week before.
• According to a News18 report, the ligature material, which is the strap allegedly used for hanging, was not provided to doctors at the time of the postmortem examination, despite it being a mandatory part of the forensic procedure.
• A local court granted anticipatory bail to the retired judge on Friday, while the hearing on Singh's anticipatory bail plea is scheduled for 18 May.
• Navnidhi Sharma also demanded that the legal proceedings in the case be transferred to a court outside Madhya Pradesh.

The last call

On the night of the incident, Twisha Sharma reportedly called her mother at 10:05 pm to report harassment at her matrimonial home.

"During the conversation, she abruptly disconnected the call after her husband entered the room," her brother, Major Harshit Sharma, an officer in the Indian Army, told NDTV. “Repeated attempts were thereafter made by our family to contact her, Samarth, and her mother-in-law, Giribala Singh, but no one responded,” he said.

At 10:15 pm, her family spoke to the mother-in-law, urging her to check on Twisha. Just five minutes later, the family was informed that she was "not breathing."

She was pronounced dead on arrival at a nearby hospital. Despite the facility being only 10 minutes away, Sharma's family allege that her death was the result of deliberately delayed medical treatment.

"They reportedly reached the hospital only around 11:30 pm," Major Sharma said.

(With agency inputs)