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In this episode of In-Depth, the focus is on dowry deaths in India. A recent surge in dowry-related fatalities highlights a systemic issue across India, with four women losing their lives within a single week in mid-May.
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00:17Tvisha was 33 years old.
00:24Deepika was 11 years younger.
00:30She was 24 years old.
00:32So was Aishwarya.
00:34Palak was the youngest of them.
00:37Just 21 years old.
00:39One week in mid-May 2026.
00:42And they are all dead.
00:54Tvisha died in her matrimonial home in Bhopal on 12th May.
00:59Deepika and Aishwarya both died on the same day.
01:0317th May, Deepika died in her matrimonial home in Greater Noida, while Aishwarya died in her parental home in Kampali,
01:12Karnataka.
01:15Palak died in her matrimonial home on 12th May.
01:20Two dates, 12th May and 17th May.
01:25Four women, married for few months to a little over a year.
01:31All died unnatural, untimely deaths.
01:36Three of them died in the homes.
01:38They tried to embrace as their own after marriage.
01:43One in her paternal place.
01:46All four of them were harassed and desperate.
01:49They all committed suicide.
01:52Daughters in their prime.
01:55Lost in marriage.
01:56Greed for dowry.
01:58Parents left grappling with grief.
02:02Waiting for justice.
02:05Dreams shattered.
02:07Lives destroyed.
02:09Marriage in India is now a daughter's death trap.
02:22Nine months back, on 21st August, 2025, there was news of 28-year-old Nikki Bhatti being burnt alive in
02:33her matrimonial home.
02:34A day later, Sanju Bishnoye, a school teacher in Jodhpur, burnt herself and her daughter.
02:41Her suicide note alleged dowry harassment by her husband and in-laws.
02:47Five days later, on 27th August, 2025, Shilpa was found hanging at a home in Bengaluru.
02:57She was pregnant with a second child.
03:00Yet the mother chose to commit suicide.
03:03Allegedly, she was being harassed for more dowry.
03:09It was not so August month of the year anymore.
03:13Outrage poured over from every corner.
03:17Twisha probably watched all these stories unfold.
03:21She got married a few months later, in December, 2025.
03:2733 years old, Twisha met Samarth Singh on a dating app in 2024.
03:34Their families met and in May, 2025, they got engaged.
03:40Twisha was a beauty pageant winner, model and even acted in a Telugu film, Muguru Monagalu.
03:57But after the film was released in 2021, Twisha turned her back to the world of glitz and glamour.
04:05She completed her MBA and started working when she met Bhopal-based criminal lawyer Samarth Singh.
04:13Their virtual meet deepened into a relationship and the two got married.
04:19Twisha left Delhi NCR and moved to Bhopal.
04:25Five months later, she was dead.
04:33Five months later, she was more than 10-15 years old.
04:35She was mentally tortured.
04:37She also said anything.
04:39vĂtik, I heard anything.
04:40She didn't have to write.
04:42She didn't remember anything she did.
04:44Her job came, my sister, in cdc.
04:47She was closed in a day during the pandemic.
04:48I didn't work for him for some days to do this.
04:52What did you study?
04:54I took a book and threw it in front of him.
04:56He gave it so much.
04:58He was a girl.
05:00He was a girl.
05:02He was a girl.
05:03He was a girl.
05:04He was a girl.
05:05I heard so much about him.
05:09He was a girl with a girl.
05:14The truth is that he is a man.
05:16So this is something that everybody here, all of us here,
05:20who are with Twisha, who are friends, who have been connected to them,
05:25are all of them.
05:26They are all of them.
05:30Twisha's WhatsApp chat with her mother proves her distress.
05:33She repeatedly raised how her husband misbehaves with her,
05:37how her mother-in-law supports her husband and refuses to listen to her,
05:42how she felt isolated and harassed in that house,
05:46she's supposed to call her home.
05:48On 12th May, Twisha was on a call with her mother allegedly around 10 p.m.
05:54She was very distressed.
05:57Minutes later, Twisha's parents were informed that she was no more by her mother-in-law.
06:04It was one dead end after another since then.
06:08We were forced to take our body from any way to crimine it,
06:13and we were forced to make our body pressure.
06:15When we were looking at the findings, we were mis-matched.
06:18There were many findings that were mis-matched and there was no clarity.
06:22They were very close to their family.
06:25They were very close to their family.
06:25The people of Satendra Singh are the family of Satendra Singh,
06:29who are influencing the case in a very good way.
06:33Now, Twisha's parents are now fighting for justice.
06:37Giribala Singh, Twisha's mother-in-law, is a retired additional district judge,
06:42now appointed as president of District Consumer Forum in Madhya Pradesh.
06:47Her husband, Samarth Singh, is a lawyer practicing independently
06:52since graduating from prestigious National Law School, Bengaluru, in 2018.
06:59Now, I have to admit that I am going to ask for 2,000,000 rupees.
07:03I have been asked for 7,000,000 rupees electronically in the bank of rent,
07:08on the property of African-Am 물어�.
07:11I have purchased that Murray at the time of people,
07:17on the property of Harishit Sharma's estate in the house.
07:22I was very surprised, that in such a way,
07:49Once a case was filed,
07:51both Visha's husband by then absconding
07:54and mother-in-law applied for anticipatory bails.
07:57The court rejected Samadh's bail plea
08:00but granted the same to Giribala Singh.
08:02She started saying that I don't want a child,
08:05I feel like I'm killing my child,
08:07I will die if I'm a child.
08:09She started it.
08:10So we said, let us go in for proper counselling.
08:14There is a need for professional help.
08:16If the father says that I don't want a child after marriage,
08:20then there will be any reason.
08:21And for any reason,
08:23there can also be a single session,
08:25with psychiatrists and gynecologists.
08:28So that's where it started.
08:30It became aware that she was consuming,
08:32and she admitted to me.
08:49When did you know the schizophrenia?
08:56When did you know the schizophrenia?
09:01So that is given for all these patients,
09:05manic depression and schizophrenia.
09:08If I export news in Disha,
09:09then I will tell you that.
09:12A suspicious death, an influential mother-in-law,
09:16and an absconding husband.
09:18After almost 11 days now,
09:21Samadh has been arrested by the Jabalpur police.
09:25And that was not without its own drama.
09:29The Madhya Pradesh High Court in the afternoon on Friday the 22nd,
09:33heard the plea by the Madhya Pradesh police
09:36to cancel the anticipatory bail granted to Giribala Singh,
09:41the ex-judge who is Disha's mother-in-law.
09:45That ended with a notice being issued to Giribala Singh,
09:49even as the solicitor general of India appearing for the Madhya Pradesh police
09:53said that the anticipatory bail should not have been given
09:57and the trial court order would shock the conscience of the court.
10:01At the same time, Samadh, who had been absconding,
10:05appeared through his lawyer and said,
10:06well, I'm ready to surrender.
10:08He did not simply surrender though.
10:10He went to the Jabalpur court.
10:13He did not go to the Bhopal court,
10:15which is the remand court.
10:16He did not go to the police station,
10:19which is investigating this case.
10:21He went to the Jabalpur court,
10:23which saw high drama with lawyers surrounding him,
10:26and the media surrounding him.
10:27And finally, he was arrested by the local police
10:31and then taken into custody.
10:45He will now be interrogated by the police
10:49as the solicitor general was very clear
10:51that they will be asking for custody for interrogation.
10:55At the same time, the family of Twisha can rest easy,
11:01take a small breath,
11:02because her second post-mortem will now be done by doctors from Ames Delhi.
11:08And why was that necessary?
11:10Because the family has been saying that the first post-mortem
11:14did not look into all the injuries on Twisha's body.
11:18It did not look into how really did she die.
11:22Remember, viewers, this is a dowry death case.
11:26The allegations have to show, the investigation has to show how she died,
11:31who was responsible.
11:33And now, with the post-mortem expected to be done,
11:36the second post-mortem expected to be done,
11:38there is finally hope that Twisha may finally see some justice.
11:45When asked about Twisha's last minutes,
11:47Giribala Singh claimed they were trying their best to save her,
11:51while the CCTV footage shows a very different picture.
11:57When asked about Twisha's last minute,
11:58they were trying their best to save her,
11:59and every minute,
12:00because when her mother called me,
12:02I called her two times,
12:03and said,
12:03where are you?
12:05There was no response to her.
12:06Then, I and Samar,
12:07both of them,
12:08and I reached first.
12:09Because I just saw her immediately.
12:11There was a falang on her,
12:14I think there was a stool,
12:15and because of the exercises,
12:18I lifted her first,
12:22and then she tried to cry.
12:24We tried,
12:26and my sister's son came.
12:29Then, two people also,
12:31the second floor is very difficult.
12:33Whatever we did, we could.
12:37Twisha was found hanging from her exercise room.
12:40Her husband, Samarth,
12:41with a house help,
12:42and neighbor brought her body down,
12:44and tried to revive her repeatedly in the staircase,
12:47while carrying her.
12:48Twisha's family cried foul play at every turn.
12:53In five months,
12:54a good girl,
12:56who had such a bright future,
12:57who died in the palace,
12:59and died after the death of the palace.
13:00After the death of the palace,
13:03she was talking about the truth.
13:05She was talking about the truth,
13:06and she was trying to make her against her.
13:09She was trying to make her against her.
13:09She was trying to make her bloody.
13:09A dead body was in James.
13:11We were asking for the second post-mortem
13:13that they did everything from the post-mortem.
13:15We didn't get it.
13:16We didn't get it.
13:17We had three days,
13:18but it was in two days.
13:19This is not a right rule.
13:21This is not a right rule.
13:21This is not a right rule.
13:22This is not a right rule.
13:23This is not a right rule.
13:23This is why we ask.
13:24We ask the police.
13:25We ask the evidence.
13:27Because, sir,
13:27we were the whole victim's family.
13:30We didn't know what happened.
13:31In half an hour,
13:32all the children were raised.
13:33Whatever the audio was released,
13:35whatever we have evidence,
13:36we will give them all the investigating agency.
13:38And we want to investigate
13:39and collect it properly.
13:42Thwisha's post-mortem
13:44was carried out
13:44in the absence of the belt
13:46from which she allegedly hung herself.
13:49There were injury marks on her body
13:51along with clear ligature marks
13:53around her neck.
13:57When we went first,
13:59the assistant died
14:00and said it was all over us.
14:02This does mean we will be fine.
14:04He said the educator just now
14:05Mom, come and take me.
14:08And then,
14:08I offered me a ticket
14:11I was like, oh, my mother-in-law didn't get a ticket.
14:14My mother-in-law had the ticket canceled my ticket.
14:17I had a phone called me and I was like, why are you coming?
14:20On the warmest and cold, the cold would be a little cold.
14:24My daughter was a little emotional.
14:26My mother said, you know, let's have a little bit of a day.
14:29So, she said, I was like, when your mood will get something to go.
14:32Because when my husband had a little bit of a cycle,
14:36it was very terrible.
14:47foreign
15:09A few kilometers from Twisha's parents' home in Greater Noida, Deepika Nagar allegedly
15:16died by jumping off the roof of her in-laws' home.
15:1924-year-old Deepika died five days after Twisha.
15:23They killed her from the house.
15:27She took 50,000,000 rupees and took her car and she will die.
15:30We will die.
15:31We will die.
15:32We will die.
15:33We will die.
15:34We will die.
15:35We will die.
15:37We will die.
15:39We will die.
15:40We will die.
15:42We will die.
15:42We will die.
15:42We will die.
15:43We will die.
15:43We will die.
15:44We will die.
15:45Nearly a year and a half ago during her marriage to Hrithik Tawar, Deepika's family spent a
15:51crore.
15:52They gave golds worth 50 lakh rupees, a top-of-the-line Scorpio car plus 5 lakh in cash.
15:58Yet, it wasn't enough for Deepika's in-laws.
16:04Nagar family claimed that the demands did not stop at the wedding mandap.
16:09Deepika's in-laws continued to demand more dowry and a Fortuner SUV car.
16:22We went to our wedding arrangements for two years.
16:35We were visiting the wedding cruise.
16:36We were visiting the wedding cruise.
16:37We were visiting the wedding.
16:38And now, I met her husband's daughter and her wife.
16:38We have visited the wedding.
16:39We were their daughters.
16:39I'm telling you that we are visiting the wedding.
16:40So, I went to my boyfriend's daughter.
16:41I came to my son.
16:42Here comes to my daughter's daughter.
16:43I went to our daughter in my daughter and I came to Samarik Tawar with me.
17:07The family refuses to accept it, as suicide.
17:12Deepika's husband Hrithik and father-in-law Manoj have been arrested.
17:17Deepika's post-mortem examination revealed that she had sustained multiple internal and external injuries along with severe trauma across her
17:26body.
17:27Doctors also noted internal bleeding, a brain hematoma and a ruptured spleen.
17:34The report further mentioned visible blows to her face and right thigh.
17:40That very day, 24-year-old Aishwarya died by suicide in Bellari, Karnataka.
17:46Again, allegedly for dowry harassment.
17:4921-year-old Palak died on 12th May in Gwalior.
17:53Again, allegedly for dowry harassment.
17:56This is the worst aspect of our society and something that is not going to go away no matter how
18:04many statistics we roll out.
18:06No matter what the law says, there is a deep, deep malaise and there are a lot of D words
18:13which I want to share on your show today.
18:15Starting with daughter, daughter which leads to dowry, which can sometimes lead to death.
18:24Before that there can be depression.
18:26There is also deceit.
18:29There is also family debt.
18:31So with all these D's, what we are doing as a society is turning a blind eye because we don't
18:38wish to address this as a problem in the first place.
18:41While chatting with a friend on social media, Thwisha had advised her not to get married.
18:47Giving her own example, she said she was stuck in an unbearable situation herself with no escape.
18:55Girwala Singh is dressed up, her saree, prim and proper saree and everything and she is just prepared.
19:01Like you know how I have to give the interview.
19:03Whereas if you see Thwisha's mother, she is dying every single day.
19:08My sister is in the mortuary right now.
19:10She has turned into something that is beyond unrecognized.
19:14She was such a pretty girl and now she is lying in the mortuary because of these monsters.
19:19Cruelty, abuse, harassment.
19:23The names change.
19:25The cities change.
19:26But the pattern remains chillingly familiar.
19:29Because these deaths are symptoms of something much larger.
19:34A society that still places greater value on sons than daughters.
19:40India's 2011 census recorded just 943 women for every 1000 men.
19:47A number that reflects decades of discrimination before a girl is even born.
19:53The preference for sons shapes everyday life in India.
19:58Earlier this year in Haryana, a couple made headlines after having 11 children in 19 years.
20:03All in the hope of finally having a boy, a male progeny.
20:08A living example of how deeply the obsession with male heirs still runs.
20:14That obsession does not remain inside homes.
20:18It shapes society itself.
20:22India reported more than 5,700 dowry deaths in 2024 alone.
20:28But the violence goes far beyond dowry.
20:31More than 4.4 lakh crimes against women were recorded last year.
20:37And the single biggest category was cruelty by husband or relatives.
20:41Accounting for over 27% of all cases.
20:45Not isolated crimes.
20:48Not exceptional horror stories.
20:50But everyday violence woven into social attitudes that continue to treat women as lesser, weaker and expendable.
21:00The question is, how long will society continue to treat women as secondary citizens?
21:06Why don't you listen to your daughter when she says it's hard?
21:11Why isn't she given the chance to rebuild her life on her own terms?
21:16If your daughter is married, and if you do receive that call, a distress call from a girl, no matter
21:23what her circumstances, do not dismiss it.
21:27Do not call it drama.
21:29Do not say, oh, it's okay.
21:31You have to adjust.
21:37This is criminal.
21:40They are equally culpable.
21:42You have to assure your daughter.
21:44Forget assuring her that very minute.
21:46You have to either get onto that next flight or get her onto that next flight.
21:51Because really there's a bomb that's ticking.
21:54Those minutes lost can cost your daughter her life.
21:57Which seems to be the case in what has happened in this very tragic case.
22:01Which is why we are all discussing it.
22:03But mothers have to be involved in this.
22:05Fathers have to be involved in this.
22:08Sons have to be involved in this.
22:10And educating all, not just the society at large, but families, maybe counselling.
22:16That dowry is just simply not acceptable.
22:19It's not on.
22:21Till India wakes up to accept that half of its population is not expendable.
22:27Or that her life's ultimate success is not defined by a marriage.
22:32That she does not need to sacrifice herself at the altar of family.
22:37This society will remain a daughter's death trap.
22:58This society will remain fortunate to have seen a story around her face.
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