- Twisha Sharma was found dead at her husband's house in Bhopal on May 12 due to hanging
- A case of dowry harassment and abetment of suicide was registered against husband and his mother
- Husband Samarth Singh and mother Giribala Singh claimed Twisha was a drug addict under treatment
Twisha Sharma, a 33-year-old woman from Noida, was found dead at her husband, lawyer Samarth Singh's, house in Bhopal's Katara Hills area on May 12. Police have registered a case of dowry harassment and abetment of suicide against the husband and his mother, Giribala Singh, a retired judge. Meanwhile, the bail application filed on behalf of Samarth Singh claimed Twisha was a drug addict and was undergoing psychiatric treatment.
Twisha had worked in the Telugu film Mugguru Monagallu (2021) and the Hindi film Zara Sambhal Kay (2018) before venturing into the corporate world. She had won the title of Miss Pune during her modelling days.
Twisha's Mugguru Monagallu co-star Dheekshithh Shetty, who gained prominence recently for starring opposite actor Rashmika Mandanna in The Girlfriend (2025), expressed shock over her sudden death.
"It's very shocking news. I had always known her as this committed, hard-working girl who had a passion for whatever she was doing. She was so full of life, and it's shocking to know that she took her own life," the actor told Hindustan Times.
Dheekshithh Shetty said he had not been in touch with her and they last spoke four years ago.
"I didn't even know that she got married. We worked on that one film and then she went back to her place. She told me that she wanted to do her master's degree and acting was not up to the mark of what she was expecting it to be. Her brother was in the Army and she realised it wasn't her cup of tea, so she wanted to just go back and settle with her family," he added.
Director of Mugguru Monagallu Abhilash Reddy said he met her parents on the day of the film's screening. "I met her parents on the day of our film's screening and they were all such lovely people. It's such sad and shocking news of her passing," he shared.
The case: What we know so far
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed to examine the allegations.
Misrod Assistant Commissioner of Police Rajneesh Kashyap, who heads the SIT, said efforts are continuing to trace Samarth Singh, who has been on the run since May 12. The preliminary post-mortem report from AIIMS Bhopal indicated death due to hanging.
Speaking to news agency PTI, Kashyap said that while the bail petition mentioned allegations of drug addiction, the SIT was investigating strictly according to the sections in the FIR.
The bail application filed by Giribala Singh for her son alleged that Twisha became irritable and developed trembling hands when she did not have access to narcotic substances.
It claimed she had been undergoing psychiatric treatment and counselling. The application stated that Twisha travelled to Delhi by flight on April 17 and remained untraceable for around 12 hours before reaching her parents' house the next day. It also claimed her behaviour towards her in-laws changed after she became pregnant.
Twisha's father, Navnidhi Sharma, told NDTV, "Look, in today's time, dowry is such a word that people demand in various ways without using it. They create a situation in which money is taken out of your pocket. No one says 'give me dowry.'"
Navnidhi Sharma said demands arose around standards and expenses.
"After Twisha lost her job, their taunts started: 'How will we feed you?' All these things came out," he said. The first clear sign of trouble surfaced during the honeymoon.
Navnidhi Sharma described Twisha's husband as a "wolf in sheep's clothing."
"If you look at their history, even their first daughter-in-law had also divorced due to harassment," he said. "A lot of assurances were given, which later did not materialise."
Twisha and Samarth met on a dating app in 2024. They married in December last year with the family's approval.