Cases of alleged dowry-related harassment of married women increased by 5.7% in Mumbai during the first six months of 2026, according to data released by the Mumbai Police. However, cases involving dowry-linked suicides and deaths declined during the same period.
Police registered 260 dowry harassment cases between January and June 2026, compared with 246 cases during the corresponding period in 2025. This represents an increase of 14 cases. Of the cases registered this year, 16 are yet to be solved.
While harassment complaints increased, more serious outcomes linked to dowry showed a decline.
Mumbai recorded three suicides allegedly linked to dowry harassment in the first half of 2026, down from five during the same period last year. Police have solved two of the three cases registered this year.
Dowry death cases also decreased, with one case reported between January and June 2026, compared with three in the first half of 2025.
There were no cases of murder attributed to dowry in Mumbai during the first half of either 2025 or 2026.
The police data indicates a decline in several other categories of crimes involving married women.
Cases of harassment not related to dowry fell from 253 in the first half of 2025 to 227 in 2026. Police have yet to solve 32 of the cases registered this year.
Murders of married women for reasons unrelated to dowry dropped from eight cases in the first six months of 2025 to four this year. Similarly, suicides not linked to dowry declined from nine cases to six.
The figures present a mixed picture: dowry harassment complaints have risen in Mumbai, even as dowry-related deaths and suicides have declined in the first half of 2026.
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