Kendriya Vidyalaya Teacher Suicide Case: Recently, in a heart-wrenching case highlighting the challenges of dowry harassment and domestic violence, 31-year-old Anvita Sharma (a Fine Arts teacher at Kendriya Vidyalaya in Dallupura, Delhi) was found dead in her Ghaziabad home on March 16, 2025. Her husband Dr Gaurav Kaushik and father-in-law Surendra Sharma are arrested meanwhile her mother-in-law Manju Sharma is being questioned. The family is accused of repeated harassment and demands for dowry.
Anvita and Gaurav were married in 2019. They also had a son, who was four years old. Anvita was repeatedly pressured by her in-laws, regardless of her work-related responsibilities. The deceased father Anil Sharma claimed to have spent around ₹26 lakh on the wedding, including gifting a Swift Dzire car, yet the demands were unrelenting. Her husband was said to have control over Anvita's salary, chequebook and ATM cards, which made her financially dependent on them.
The day this occurred, Anvita texted her brother that she could no longer take it. She wrote, "I love you bhai. Please forgive me and take care of everyone." Her brother rushed to Gaurav and found the door locked from inside. Anvita was found unconscious after they cut through the window grille and was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
A suicide note found at the scene described Anvita’s torment. She described her husband said he wanted a wife who was beautiful and industrious, she had to sweep the house, wash dishes and also help financially. No matter how much she tried, she always felt somehow not good enough.
“My husband wanted a beautiful, hardworking wife who also had a job. I did everything I could, but it was never enough. They wanted someone who would only focus on the in-laws, but my parents and brother were equally important to me. No mother-in-law could have taunted me as much as my husband did in the past five years. He found faults in everything I did,” she wrote on a suicide note.
She also added, "He married my job, not me." She faced constant mocking about her family's financial status and how much she was able to continue with her education.
She claimed that she was "tired of pretending to be happy" since her in-laws "only wanted a working maid". "My husband has complete access to my bank accounts and chequebook. Please take care of my child. "I love my son the most in the world, and I want you to keep him with you," Anvita stated, referring to her parents, stating, "I don't want him to become like his father."
Gaurav and Surendra Sharma were arrested after Anvita's father filed a complaint. The accused have been charged with sections of the Indian Penal Code -- Section 85 (cruelty by husband or his relatives), Section 80(2) (punishment for dowry death), Section 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), Section 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) -- and the provisions of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961.
