Twisha Sharma & Deepika Nagar Cases That Reignited Debate Around Dowry and Abuse

“Mumma aap kal aake mujhe yahaan se le jao mujhe nhi lagta Samarth ko mein chahiye hu”(Mumma, please come and take me tomorrow. I don’t think he needs me anymore.)

These were the messages of  Twisha Sharma sent to her mother a couple of days before her alleged suicide.

She was a 33-year-old model, actress, and MBA graduate, as described by her family; she was an ambitious, independent woman who got married to Samarth Singh.

What initially appeared to be a normal love story turned into tragedy.

On 12 May, Twisha’s parents received a call from her mother-in-law, Giribala Singh, a retired judge, who told them that Twisha had committed suicide. 

Her parents have denied the possibility of her committing suicide and have accused Samarth and his mother of alleged torture over dowry. 

According to the postmortem report, the cause of her death has been revealed as antemortem hanging by ligature.

On her second postmortem, which was granted a few days after there were six other injuries found on her body, four of which were on the left arm, one on the ring finger, and one on the head, and that was antemortem

Her son, who had gone absconding for 10 days, and Giribala Singh got bail within 24 hours of her arrest.

The family raised the concern that Giribala Singh is influencing the case through her contact.

After a few days of media trial, Samarth surrendered on 22 May.

Later, the Supreme Court raised concern over the handling of twisha sharma case, and the Court took suo motu cognizance of the matter, and the case was transferred to the CBI

Later, the CBI arrested Giribal Singh.

“They Wanted A Fortuner SUV and 50 Lakh Cash”

These were the claims made by Sanjay Nagar, Deepika Nagar’s father. Deepika, a 24-year-old B.A. graduate from Greater Noida, got married to Ritik Tanwar around 17 months ago before her death.

According to Deepika’s family, soon after the marriage, Ritik and his family were harassing her to bring more cash and gold from her family. Deepika’s family claims that they had already given 11 lakh cash,20 carats of gold, and furniture to them.

“But we didn’t file a police complaint because we thought it would pass; we were trying to save her marriage,” said her father.

On 17 May, Sanjay Nagar went to her in-laws’ home to resolve the matter after Deepika called her, saying she was being abused.

According to the family, just after they left, they got a phone call from Ritik’s family saying, “Deepika gir gayi hai” (Deepika has fallen), to which her father asked, “Kaha se”(from where), to which they didn’t get any clear answer from them; somehow, they got to know that she had fallen from the terrace rushed to the hospital.

By the time they reached the doctor had already pronounced her dead. The family has alleged that Ritik and his family pushed her from the terrace, and besides the injuries from the fall, there were many other injuries, which to them feel were from the physical abuse that she was subjected to.

There were many injuries in the autopsy report of Deepika, but doctors said that it was hard to distinguish whether those injuries were only from falling, or some of them were from other causes

On 18 May, her family filed a complaint against Ritik and his family, in which 4 people were arrested: Ritik, his mother, his father, and his uncle.

India’s “adjust” culture

According to Twisha’s and Deepika’s parents, both of them told them about the abuse they were going through.

While the in-laws are under scrutiny, these cases also raise questions regarding how families react when women talk about abuse. In most cases, women are often told to adjust even in abusive marriages.

As some on the internet have very correctly said, “In India, a dead daughter is better than a divorced daughter.”

India’s dowry problem is far from over.

These conversations continue to expose how often women’s distress is minimized inside families and marriages.

In all the dowry cases, one thing that stands out is that the family didn’t file a complaint earlier, hoping to save the marriage.

That, to me, is the real question: Why is saving a marriage often prioritized over a daughter’s safety and well-being?

Dowry in India was criminalized in 1961, but still, dowry remains deeply embedded in Indian households. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, 16 dowry deaths happen every day in India, highlighting that the dowry problem is far from over.

Indian cinema has often explored themes of patriarchy, women’s rights, and the challenges women face within families and society. If you’re interested in stories that highlight these realities, check out our list of powerful women-centric movies and series every woman should watch.