Her family spent nearly a crore for the wedding. Barely 17 months later, the 25-year-old woman is dead. She allegedly died by falling off the roof of her in-laws' home in Greater Noida, a suburb of Delhi, police said.
The incident, which took place late Sunday night, was reported from Greater Noida's Jalpura area under Ecotech-III police station limits.
The family of Deepika Nagar claims that she was being mentally and physically harassed for dowry.
"Unhe Fortuner gaadi chahiye thi, 51 lakh rupaye chaiye the (They wanted a Fortuner car, Rs 51 lakh)," Sanjay Narang, father of Deepika Narang, told NDTV, fighting back tears.
Deepika Nagar during her wedding in December 2024
Three-four months into the marriage the problems began, claimed the father.
"We didn't file a police complaint. We kept thinking, "Let it pass, let it pass." We tried very hard to save her," the father, sitting outside a Noida mortuary, told this reporter when asked if he ever thought of approaching the cops.
The body has been sent for post-mortem. The results are awaited.
Deepika's husband, Ritick Tanwar, and father-in-law, Manoj, have been arrested in connection with the case, police said.
"Last night, information was received that a woman - who had been married for one and a half years - died after jumping from a rooftop. Upon receiving this information, the police immediately reached the scene; necessary legal formalities are being conducted, and arrangements are being made for a post-mortem examination," Shailendra Kumar Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Central Noida, said.
"Based on a complaint filed by the victim's family members, the woman's husband, Ritick Tanwar, and father-in-law have been arrested in connection with this case," the police officer added.
According to the complaint filed by Deepika's father, the woman's in-laws were dissatisfied with the dowry given in marriage.
The 25-year-old woman's father, Sanjay Nagar, maintains that he gave Rs 11 lakh in cash, gold worth Rs 50 lakh, furniture and a Scorpio car during the wedding in December 2024.
The injury marks as seen on Deepika Nagar's body
On Sunday, Deepika reportedly called her family crying and informed them she was being beaten and abused by her husband and in-laws.
Deepika's father, accompanied by a few relatives, reportedly visited the in-laws' house the same evening and tried to resolve the dispute.
Later, the family received information that Deepika had fallen from the roof and was seriously injured.
The father dismissed the suicide angle, calling her daughter's death a "murder".
"They killed her. After beating her, they threw her down from the roof. They did it together. What is this talk of suicide? This is murder. She he has been stabbed in the stomach with a knife or a screwdriver," the father claimed.
"Those beasts killed her last night. They killed her out of greed for dowry. For the past 10 months, she had been constantly telling us about her plight, but we kept trying to reason with her. Yet, it made absolutely no difference to them whatsoever. We even spoke yesterday. I had actually met her yesterday as well. As soon as we left for home, we received a call at 12:30 am. There are visible marks of injury on her body. After killing her, they threw her down from the roof," the father claimed.
The victim's family has alleged that injury marks were found on Deepika's body and blood was coming from her nose and ears at the hospital.
"The regret is absolute. What is there to be done now? Our daughter is gone. What good does giving a car do to her?" the father said when asked if he regretted giving dowry.
(With inputs from Narendra Thakur)
