Twisha Sharma: Husband and mother-in-law charged in Indian bride’s death

A model and actor, Twisha was crowned Miss Pune in 2012 after winning a beauty pageant in the western Indian city. She had featured in a number of advertising campaigns and acted in a Telugu-language film. In recent years, she had also worked as a marketing professional with private firms.

According to the chargesheet, Twisha met Samarth through a dating app in February 2025 and the couple married in December.

In the chargesheet, the CBI said its investigation showed that after their marriage, Samarth subjected Twisha to mental cruelty on several occasions and repeatedly used derogatory terms towards her. “Giribala Singh would from time to time instigate her son to commit mental cruelty on Twisha,” it added.

According to Twisha’s parental family, the biggest point of friction between her and her in-laws came in April after she became pregnant. They allege that “her husband and mother-in-law questioned her character and accused her of carrying someone else’s baby” and “forced her to undergo an abortion in the first week of May”.

Giribala Singh had denied the allegations, saying it was Twisha who insisted on the abortion saying that she did not want children.

Days after Twisha’s death, the former judge had drawn criticism for addressing a press conference and giving media interviews where she discussed her daughter-in-law’s mental health and called her “liberal” – when asked to explain the term by an interviewer, she spoke of “promiscuity”.

Her comments led to a huge outrage and Twisha’s father said it was an attempt to tarnish his daughter’s name.