Mumbai Dowry Harassment Cases Rose 5.7% In First Half Of 2026

Cases of married women subjected to physical and mental harassment over dowry rose by 5.7% in Mumbai during the first half of 2026, according to data released by the Mumbai police.

Police registered 260 dowry-related harassment cases up to June 30 this year, compared to 246 cases during the corresponding period in 2025. The rise of 14 cases represented the sharpest increase among crime categories involving married women in the city. Out of the 260 cases registered in 2026, 16 remain unsolved.

Despite the uptick in harassment complaints, fatal outcomes linked to dowry demands saw a decline. Suicides resulting from dowry-related harassment dropped to three cases in the first six months of 2026, down from five during the same timeframe in 2025. Investigators have solved two of the three suicide cases registered this year.

Dowry death cases also decreased across Mumbai, with one case registered in the first half of 2026 compared to three in the first half of 2025. Police records showed that no murders attributed to dowry were registered in the city during the first six months of either year.

Other categories of crimes against married women showed downward trends across the city. Harassment of married women for reasons other than dowry dropped from 253 cases in the first half of 2025 to 227 cases this year, with 32 cases currently unsolved.

Additionally, murders of married women for non-dowry reasons fell from eight in the first half of 2025 to four in 2026. Suicides by married women for reasons not involving dowry also declined from nine cases in 2025 to six cases during the same period this year.