Cheerful, loud, and radiant with joy, she was the kind of bride who filled every room with laughter, dancing through her wedding celebrations. Less than five months later, that same smiling bride is dead. Her face now flickers across television screens and stares back from newspaper front pages, as questions continue to be raised about her even after her death.
It was a “love story” that ended in tragedy.
Twisha Sharma met her husband, Samarth Singh, on a dating app, and the two soon decided to marry. Their wedding was everything a grand Indian celebration is expected to be – loud music, dancing, smiling faces, and extravagant festivities. In the wedding teaser, Twisha appears jubilant, laughing and dancing through the ceremonies, unaware of the fate that awaited her just months later.
How did a “love” marriage unravel into tragedy in the middle of an urban, educated setting? Twisha Sharma, a former Miss Pune and MBA graduate, came from the world of ambition and aspiration. Her husband, Samarth, is a lawyer, while her mother-in-law, Giribala Singh, is a retired judge.
Read: Explosive Claim By Salon Owner Over Twisha Sharma’s Visit Hours Before Death
Her mother remains in deep shock, struggling to comprehend how life can continue without her daughter. Her father has forgotten hunger and thirst, consumed entirely by grief; the only thing driving him now is the pursuit of justice for Twisha Sharma.
First Signs Of Trouble
“Initially, we did not think the issues were major. We thought it was simply an attitude problem that would get better with time. My daughter, too, didn’t make an issue out of it, she was made to believe it was all her fault,” Twisha’s father, Navnidhi Sharma, told NDTV.
But, according to the family, things began to unravel within days of the wedding itself.
“Twisha had misread the flight timings for their honeymoon trip to Vietnam. They missed their flight. Samarth pushed Twisha at the airport, but she let it go. It was treated as though it were entirely her fault, and she, too, believed it was a one-time incident. But we were all wrong. The attitude only got worse with time, and it has continued even after her death. Look at how her mother-in-law is trying to shame her publicly,” her father alleged.
Assurances That Never Came
The family says assurances were repeatedly given to Twisha that if things deteriorated in Bhopal, the couple would move to Indore and start afresh away from the tensions. But according to them, those promises never materialised, even as the situation allegedly continued to worsen behind closed doors.
“Samarth changed colours like a chameleon. She had told her he would always stand up for her,” alleged Navnidhi Sharma. “Her mother-in-law, Giribala Singh, always had an attitude problem. She would speak in an intimidating manner, but we let it pass because she was a judge. We assumed that perhaps the tone came from the profession she had been in. We could never reason with her, she was too heavy on us, she behaved like a dictator,” the father said.
Giribala Singh, meanwhile, has denied any wrongdoing following Twisha Sharma’s death and has publicly made claims about her mental health, while also accusing her of marijuana consumption. In audio recordings that surfaced after the incident, she is allegedly heard raising questions about Twisha’s past relationships. Chats also suggest that doubts were cast on the legitimacy of her child, further intensifying the controversy surrounding the case.
Read: VIP Treatment For Samarth Singh In Court? Twisha Sharma’s Family New Claims
Twisha’s parents accused her husband and in-laws of repeated harassment allegedly linked to dowry demands following the marriage, along with mental cruelty and prolonged domestic discord.
“These chats circulating in the media are barely 10 per cent of the harassment my daughter had to endure. Initially, we could not fully understand or decipher the attitude of Giribala Singh and Samarth,” the father said.
“No one in educated families now asks for dowry directly, it is in the name of rituals and gifts. They even asked us to transfer Twisha’s shares in my company to their name, which we refused,” the father alleged.
“She deserved love and respect. We were made to believe she would have a happy and dignified life there. Instead, she was humiliated, disrespected, and subjected to foul language,” he said.
Cracks Behind The Smiles
According to the family, Samarth’s behaviour towards both Twisha Sharma and her parents began changing soon after the wedding. “He never initiated contact with us. He was emotionally absent. At first, we told ourselves it was normal, that people take time to adjust after marriage,” her father said.
Meanwhile, Twisha Sharma gradually began growing increasingly isolated, according to her family. “She stopped keeping in touch with her friends as regularly as she used to. Many people assumed she had simply become busy after marriage,” her father said.
“But there can usually be only two reasons for someone to suddenly withdraw like that – either they are extremely happy in their new life, or something has gone terribly wrong. In my daughter’s case, it was the latter,” he added.
Read: Twisha Sharma’s 2nd Autopsy Cleared By Court, Husband Withdraws Bail Plea
The demeanour of the seemingly ever-cheerful bride had also changed by the time of her brother’s wedding. Though Twisha Sharma tried her best to hide her emotions behind smiles and appearances, her loved ones sensed that something was amiss, a quiet shift that hinted all was not well beneath the surface.
Before she was found dead, Twisha Sharma had told her family, according to her father, “Phas gayi hu (I am stuck).”
“That evening, she spoke to us and sounded distressed. We told her we would bring her back home,” her father recalled. “But suddenly, we heard Samarth’s voice in the background, and the call got disconnected. The next thing we heard was that she had been found dead,” the father said.
The investigation into the death of Twisha Sharma has now been transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation.
“We are dying a little every day in this process, but her soul is driving me forward,” her father said. “We are not asking investigators to blindly accept our version. We are only asking them to examine the evidence honestly and conduct the investigation transparently.”