A 33-year-old woman. A five-month marriage. A retired judge as a mother-in-law. And a family still searching for justice.
Twisha Sharma was not just another name in the news. She was a 33-year-old woman from Noida, Uttar Pradesh, who had won the Miss Pune crown back in 2012. She had worked as a model. She later built a career in marketing. By all accounts, she was sharp, independent, and full of life.
In 2024, she met a man named Samarth Singh on a dating app. He was a criminal lawyer practising at the District Court in Bhopal. His mother, Giribala Singh, was a retired district judge who had served until February 2023. On the surface, it looked like a promising match.
They married on December 12, 2025.
Five months later, Twisha was dead.
The Night of May 12, 2026
That Tuesday night started with a phone call. Twisha called her mother at 10:05 PM. She was describing the harassment she was facing at home. Then, abruptly, the call cut off. Her husband had walked into the room.
At 10:15 PM, her mother called back. Twisha’s mother-in-law picked up the phone.
By 10:20 PM, the family received the news no parent ever wants to hear. Twisha was not breathing.
The nearest hospital was just ten minutes away. But Twisha only arrived at AIIMS Bhopal at around 11:30 PM. Doctors declared her dead on arrival. Hospital staff, as required by law, immediately alerted the police.
Twisha was found hanging from a pipe on the terrace of her home in Bag Mugalia Extension, Laharpur, under the Katara Hills area of Bhopal.
Her Last Messages
Before she died, Twisha reached out to the people she trusted most.
She sent a message to her cousin. Four words: “I am trapped.”
She also confided in her close friend, Meenakshi. In their last conversation, Twisha told her: “I am stuck, man, don’t get stuck. I can’t talk much right now, but when the right time comes, I will call.”
She never called again.
What Her Family Says Happened
Her brother, Major Harshit Sharma of the Indian Army, has been one of the loudest voices demanding justice. He told police that Twisha had called him the very night she died, describing ongoing mental harassment by her husband.
According to him, things were fine at first. But after Twisha resigned from her job, everything changed. The taunting started. She was called “worthless.” She was humiliated daily over petty things. Over time, she sank into depression.
Her family alleges far more than emotional abuse. In a detailed statement, her mother, Rekha Sharma, alleged that Twisha was subjected to:
- Mental cruelty and emotional harassment
- Physical abuse
- Pressure over dowry demands, including pressure to transfer Rs 20 lakh in assets
- Forced drug use
- Unnatural sex
Most shockingly, her family alleged that Twisha’s pregnancy was terminated against her will, just one week before her death.
The family also says she lost nearly 15 kilograms after marriage. They claim her mother-in-law deliberately denied her proper food.
Despite all of this, Twisha had apparently tried to find a way out. She had booked a ticket to return to Noida. She was going home. The news of her death reached her family before she could.
What the Postmortem Found
The postmortem report tells a disturbing story.
The official cause of death is listed as “antemortem hanging by ligature,” meaning she was alive when she was hanged. However, the report also documented multiple ante-mortem injuries — that is, injuries that happened before her death — consistent with blunt force trauma.
In other words, someone had hurt her before she died.
The report further confirmed what her family had been saying: Twisha underwent a medical termination of pregnancy approximately one week before her death.
Forensic samples — viscera, blood, nail clippings, clothing, sealed items — have all been preserved for toxicology and DNA analysis. Investigators are also noting something unusual: the ligature material was neither present at the scene nor submitted by the investigation officer for examination.
The family is not satisfied with the initial postmortem. They have demanded a second examination at AIIMS Delhi.
The Accused: A Retired Judge and Her Lawyer Son
This case carries an uncomfortable layer of power dynamics.
The accused are not ordinary people. Samarth Singh is a practising criminal lawyer at the District Court in Bhopal. His mother, Giribala Singh, served as a district judge until 2023. She knows how the legal system works. Her son defends people inside it.
Twisha’s family says they felt this power from the very beginning.
When they arrived at the Katara Hills police station late on Wednesday night to file a complaint, they found the main gate shut after the police saw them approaching. The family alleges that officers stalled for nearly 24 hours before taking concrete action. The FIR was finally registered at 3:30 AM on Friday — roughly two days after Twisha’s death.
The FIR was filed under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Dowry Prohibition Act. Specifically, it invokes:
- Section 80 — Dowry death (carries seven years to life imprisonment)
- Section 85 — Cruelty by husband or relatives
- Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act
A local court granted anticipatory bail to Giribala Singh. Her son Samarth’s bail plea was still pending at the time of filing. Both accused were at large. Police teams conducted multiple raids at their residence and other possible hideouts but failed to make arrests.
Twisha’s brother put it plainly: “The police are refraining from taking action due to the duo’s influence and clout.”
A Family’s Fight on the Streets
Twisha’s parents and her brother — an Army Major — travelled from Noida to Bhopal when they heard the news. What they found did not feel like justice in motion.
They refused to take Twisha’s body until a murder case was formally registered and the accused arrested. For two days, they protested outside the Katara Hills police station. Then they moved to the Women’s Police Station. Then they marched to the Police Commissioner’s office. On Sunday, they gathered outside the Chief Minister’s residence, demanding a direct meeting.
Her father alleged that even during legal proceedings, they felt outnumbered. “The room was filled with their lawyers,” he said. He also claimed the case was shifted from one judge to another before anticipatory bail was finally granted. His son — Twisha’s brother — was allegedly attacked during one of these procedures.
The family has also launched a social media campaign: #JusticeForTwisha.
The SIT Steps In
Amid the growing pressure, the Bhopal police constituted a six-member Special Investigation Team to probe the case. The SIT is tasked with investigating allegations of:
- Dowry harassment
- Physical assault
- Destruction of evidence
The SIT has stated that it will need court intervention before ordering a second postmortem, which the family has been demanding.
Meanwhile, Police Commissioner Sanjay Kumar assured the public that the investigation would remain neutral and transparent.
Why This Case Matters
India records tens of thousands of dowry-related deaths every year. Most of them disappear quietly into statistics. Twisha Sharma’s case is different — not because the suffering was unique, but because her family refused to stay silent.
They drove across states. They slept outside police stations. They fought lawyers in a room stacked against them. They took to social media. And slowly, the country started listening.
But the bigger question this case raises is harder to sit with: if a woman married to a criminal lawyer and a retired judge cannot get justice fast enough, what happens to women without those connections pointing the spotlight?
Twisha had a voice. She used it, even at the very end. Four words to her cousin. A few careful sentences to her friend. A phone call to her mother was cut short.
She knew something was very wrong. She said so.
The country now has to decide whether it heard her.
This is an ongoing case. Details may be updated as the investigation progresses.
