Family members of a 33-year-old woman found dead in Bhopal earlier this week staged a protest outside the chief minister's residence on Sunday, demanding a fresh post-mortem examination of her body at AIIMS Delhi.
Twisha, a native of Noida in Uttar Pradesh, was found hanging at the residence of her husband, Samarth Singh, in Bhopal’s Katara Hills area on May 12. According to police, she met Bhopal-based lawyer Samarth Singh through a dating app in 2024 and married him in December 2025.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed to probe allegations of dowry harassment against the woman's lawyer husband and his mother, Giribala Singh, a former judge.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Rajneesh Kashyap, who is heading the SIT, had said earlier that a case under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to dowry death and harassment had been registered against Samarth and his mother. A local court granted anticipatory bail to the retired judge on Friday.
He had said efforts had been intensified to trace and arrest Samarth.
"Samarth and his mother had rushed Twisha Sharma to a hospital, where doctors declared her dead on arrival. Police received the information about her death from hospital authorities around 11 pm (on Tuesday)," an official said.
Her family has accused Samarth Singh and his mother, of murder. They protested outside chief minister Mohan Yadav's official residence in Bhopal to press for their demands.
Twisha's family claimed that her body had remained in the mortuary of AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) Bhopal for the last five days and demanded a second post-mortem examination at AIIMS Delhi.
Her father, Navnidhi Sharma, and her brother said officials from the CM's office assured them of fair action after they met them during the protest. Navnidhi also demanded that the legal proceedings in the case be transferred to a court outside Madhya Pradesh.
According to Twisha's relatives, she wanted to leave Bhopal and return to Noida. They also claimed that she remained in touch with them until around 10 pm on Tuesday, shortly before her death. Her relatives staged a protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar on Monday, alleging irregularities in the post-mortem procedure and demanding a CBI probe into the case.
Holding placards and banners reading 'Justice for Twisha', the protesters raised slogans seeking action against Twisha's husband, Samarth Singh and his mother.
"We want justice for Twisha. The case should be transferred to the CBI. We can't get justice in Bhopal," Kunal Chauhan, a friend of Twisha, said.
On whether Twisha's friends were aware of her situation after her marriage, Chauhan claimed that she had been isolated by her in-laws.
"We did not leave her alone; her in-laws alienated her," he said.
"We are not satisfied with the post-mortem conducted in Bhopal. We want her medical records to be examined at AIIMS Delhi," he added.
According to several media reports, alleged Instagram chats related to the case surfaced online, where Twisha was seen feeling ‘trapped’ inside the marriage.
In conversations with friends, she spoke about missing her home and struggling to find purpose after marriage, even while trying to minimise her distress.
Samajwadi Party leader Manoj Yadav met Twisha’s family in Bhopal and said the victim’s relatives suspect foul play in her death.
He said, "The family is alleging that she was killed. Twisha's mother is demanding justice for her daughter. The family does not trust the postmortem report and wants the case to be transferred to Delhi, where the postmortem should be conducted. Akhilesh Yadav has instructed that every possible help be extended to the victim's family, and the party stands with them."
